A Whole New World
by RosalindHawkins
Summary: [A Revamp of "Seto Freaking Kaiba" & "The Ballad Of Bakura"] Two interweaving story lines about Kaiba and Ryou. [Draws from YGOTAS (created by LittleKuriboh), the manga, the anime, and my own AU. Thiefshipping (Bakura x Marik). Ryou Bakura x OC. Seto Kaiba x OC. One-Sided Deathshipping (Ryou x Yami Marik).] Warning: non-con, abuse, depression, suicidal.
1. Kaiba's History

_"I miss Mom and Dad. I wish that they were here with us right now. It's not fair that they left us here all alone."_

 _"Come on, no crying. Tears aren't gonna help us now. There's only one way you and I are gonna get through all this. We've got to get tough. Emotions will only get in the way of our survival. Don't expect anyone else to help us ever again. You and I are on our own now."_

10 Years Old: Seto cowered on the floor as his step-father walked away, leaving his adopted son without a single shred of remorse for what he'd done.

"What more does he want from me?" the child whispered as he choked back a sob. No matter how loud he yelled or how hard he hit, Gozaburo would never make him cry. Seto wouldn't allow it. Even so, he was shaking as he struggled back to his feet and began to gather together his school things, moving stiffly as he cleaned up the desk before finally going to sleep for the night.

He remembered when he used to enjoy schoolwork, because it was interesting and he was good at it. But ever since Gozaburo had put him in a highly accelerated education program, school had become a grueling, miserable thing for him. His "father" demanded only the best from Seto, and when he couldn't manage to get absolutely perfect scores, he suffered for it dearly.

Besides all that, what child could enjoy schoolwork when it meant he'd be forced to whittle away at pages and pages of it while wearing a tight dog collar meant to keep him from falling asleep before he was done? And how could you feel satisfied with completing your homework when all of your toys and games had been taken away permanently, so that you couldn't play with them even when you had finished your schoolwork? Surely his step-father hated him, and intended to torture him until he broke his spirit.

Seto knew why Gozaburo hated him so much. After all, what man enjoyed having the title of international chess champion stripped from him by a mere child, even if he was a prodigy? Seto had trumped Mr. Kaiba in that fateful chess match, and he'd known that he would going into it; after all, when a chess champion was challenged to a match by an orphan betting adoption, it looked more like an act of ignorant desperation than a carefully planned strategy. He'd known that Gozaburo wouldn't take the match seriously at first, which had given Seto an advantage, one that he'd exploited shamelessly. Gozaburo had never forgiven him for his arrogance and intelligence. His bitterness and egoism kept his hatred for the child burning hotter with every passing day.

 _"I liked the way it was before we got here! At least back then, you actually smiled once in a while!"_

 _"He wants to forget everything, including the person he used to be. But I liked Seto back then, he actually used to smile. Now he wants to get rid of that smile forever. Seto needs to realize that reaching the top doesn't have to mean being miserable."_

11 Years Old: Seto hated living in fear. One day, he'd be powerful enough that there'd be nobody for him to fear, that everybody would be afraid of him. One day, he'd be smart enough that he wouldn't need anybody's help with anything. One day, he'd be strong enough to take care of his brother all by himself. Gozaburo may have intended to break Seto, but the arrogant orphaned prodigy was proving to have an indomitable spirit.

Seto worked at his lessons as hard as he possibly could, not just to avoid Gozaburo's' fury, but so that one day he could surpass and supplant the president and founder of KaibaCorp. And as he got older, his anger grew hotter, his wit grew sharper, and Gozaburo's temper grew shorter.

Mr. Kaiba refused to tolerate insolence from the brat he'd taken in from the orphanage, and Seto soon learned the full extent of Gozaburo's cruelty. Even so, Seto endured it all dry-eyed, his spirit hardening into cold steel, forged by the fires of hatred. He hid his wounds and scars perfectly with the formal suits and turtleneck shirts he was given, never letting his younger brother, or anybody on the outside, see him in pain.

 _"The past is over, and I may not be proud of every decision I made, but everything I did, I did for us, so we'd have a better life. Now let's move ahead, and don't look back."_

12 Years Old: As much as he hated Gozaburo, it was still in his interest to please the egomaniac. He developed a computer program for a virtual gaming system and showed it to his step-father, only to have him laugh in his face, then steal Seto's program and pass it off as his own, earning his company millions of dollars.

"How dare he," Seto muttered to himself. "How dare he steal my invention, after I worked so hard for so long to make it? Nobody steals from me and gets away with it." Mokuba could only sit by silently, upset that their step-father had stolen from Seto, but also displeased at seeing what his older brother was becoming: someone who was angry and unhappy all the time. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Seto smile.

On the elder brother's birthday, Gozaburo proposed a contest to Seto. He gave him ten million dollars, saying that he may do anything he liked with it, provided he could pay back ten times the amount in exactly one year, and if he couldn't, Seto and Mokuba would go back to the orphanage. Thus, Seto's first real challenge began. He was undaunted, however.

 _"I never lose!"_

13 Years Old: He paid back more than ten times the amount Gozaburo had given him. Perhaps he had used underhanded business techniques, but he hadn't done anything illegal. He wasn't a thief like his step-father. But he had learned his business techniques from the scummy corporation head himself, not just from observing Gozaburo, but also from the game theory, econometrics, and investment textbooks he'd had Seto learn by heart.

But not even Gozaburo could have anticipated what would happen next. Seto had accumulated almost enough shares of the Kaiba Corporation to take over. All he needed was Mokuba's 2% of the shares to finally overthrow their step-father. Gozaburo tried turning Mokuba against Seto, but ultimately failed. In such a way, Gozaburo lost control of KaibaCorp.

Seto spared no tears when Gozaburo committed suicide, just as he'd wasted no love on the cold, cruel man when he was alive. Seto was almost there, almost to the point where he'd have the power he'd long dreamed of acquiring. That power, he believed, would protect him, so long as he could keep it. And once he had that power, he could use it to protect Mokuba and give him a better future.

 _"Yugi may have lost the game, but at least he hasn't lost his heart, unlike you, Seto Kaiba! You've spent so much time around machines that you've forgotten what it's like to be human!"_

17 Years Old: He was president and CEO of KaibaCorp, the youngest multibillionaire on earth. He'd changed Gozaburo's company from specializing in weapons of mass destruction and combat vehicles to children's gaming technology, developed entirely by yours truly. He programed and designed the holographic stages for the popular card game Duel Monsters, a game he'd managed to master in no time. He was officially the international champion, and as such held the title of King of Games. He never lost a single duel.

He'd even landed a profitable deal with the Duel Monsters creator, Maximilian Pegasus. He'd started attending a normal high school, not that there was much they could teach him. He was still working towards fulfilling the oath he'd made to Mokuba when they were still in the orphanage: that one day he'd make the best theme parks all over the world, theme parks that orphans could visit for free.

 _"I make my own destiny."_


	2. Ryou's Past

**Author Notes:** This prologue serves primarily as an introduction to Ryou and Yami Bakura by alternating quotes from the manga and anime (and even a couple quotes from Season Zero). The words of Yami Bakura are in bold. If you're already well acquainted with these characters, you can just skip on ahead to the next chapter, where the story starts! 

* * *

"Wh-What is this pain?" Ryou muttered as he unbuttoned his shirt, only to see that the Millennium ring, the gift from his father, was impaling his chest with its prongs. Pain. Confusion. Fear.

* * *

 **"I am the other being hidden inside you. I came with the Millennium ring. I've decided to stay in you forever!"**

* * *

"Didn't you hear? Everyone who becomes his friend ends up in a coma!"

* * *

 **"Ever since you were little, you were picked on. You had no friends. Your wish was to someday be with a lot of friends. That's why I granted your wish. I made it so your friends are always nearby. I trapped their souls in these miniatures so that you can play with them forever!"**

* * *

"This can't be happening, not again!"

* * *

"Stop it, stay away from me!"

 **"I can't do that, we still have a mission to complete."**

"Mission?"

 **"How quickly you forget. Allow me to remind you. Does the term Millennium item sound familiar? Well, you promised to help me obtain all seven, and at the moment we only have one. But not to worry, I know where the others are. I just need someone to take me to them. And that's where you come in. After all, you're the vessel that allows me to exist in this world. Now stop resisting and join me!"**

"Never!"

 **"What makes you think I'm giving you the choice? You will help me, and the most powerful force that ever existed will be mine!"**

"You can't force me!"

 **"That's where you're wrong, mortal! I've waited long enough. The darkest Shadow game in five millennia will now begin!"**

* * *

"I won't let you control me anymore! I'm going to help my friends strike you down!"

* * *

 **"This damn left hand!"** the spirit of the Millennium ring shouted before impaling the offending appendage on the point of a turret of Castle Zorc. **"Now you can't do as you'd like, Ryou** **Bakura!"**

* * *

An injured Ryou was supported by Marik Ishtar, his upper arm bleeding from a stab wound inflicted by his yami.

"Bakura, what happened?" Joey asked, concerned for his friend.

"It happened so quickly, I can't remember."

* * *

 **"I am a thief and a stealer of souls, and I have done terrible things in my quest to obtain the seven millennium items."**

* * *

"I won't let you kill my friends. I'll fight too."

* * *

 **"I was enjoying prolonging your suffering."**

* * *

"Leave the young one out of this!" the spirit of the Millennium puzzle commanded.

 **"Why should I? By simply destroying him, I defeat you as well. You're here to guide and protect him? Then protect him against this!"** Yami Bakura played the Change of Heart, summoning the soul of his host to the playing field.

"Bakura! So your soul was sealed into your favorite card too," Yugi observed.

"I want to help, but we must act quickly, Yugi!" Ryou cried as he rushed to possess his Yami's only monster on the field: the Lady of Faith. "I've taken over one of his cards instead of yours! I'll control her while you attack me! You can win against the evil Bakura."

"I can't!" Yugi protested. "I'd be destroying you, sending you to the graveyard!"

"I don't care, it's better than being enslaved by an evil spirit! Do it!"

* * *

 **"Don't you realize that I am the darkness? I cannot be destroyed!"**

* * *

"My arm… it hurts. Yugi, help me! I don't know where I am. What am I doing here in this duel? What happened to my arm?"

* * *

 **"You can regret your foolishness in Hell!"**

* * *

"He's in pain. Without the spirit of the ring he is weak."

* * *

 **"Now, pharaoh ... let's begin the killing game!"**

* * *

"I don't feel very well, Yugi," Ryou said as he sank to his knees.

* * *

 **"I am the great Bakura, the King of Thieves!"**

* * *

"Please, someone help me, I don't feel well at all."

* * *

 **"I'll paint the walls of the palace with your blood!"**

* * *

"I don't want to lose any more friends, even if it means my soul should shatter!"

* * *

 **"No one can truly draw the line between just and unjust, good and evil. Only the Millennium items can tell ... they are the compass of the soul!"**


	3. Kaiba's Therapist

It was Kaiba's bimonthly appointment with his therapist, and things were going just as they always went: him sitting in his chair, arms crossed, as he stared at his therapist without saying a word. She sat there staring right back at him, not looking aggravated or annoyed at all, simply waiting to see if he chose to speak. This was his fifth therapist this year, actually, and his fourth appointment with her, which was a record for Seto. Usually they got frustrated by the third session and gave up, referring him to someone else. The whole thing was rather amusing for him.

"So, I heard about Yugi's challenge," she said out of the blue, causing Seto to start.

"Yeah, so?" he retorted disdainfully.

"I took the liberty of watching the videos you uploaded. I found it interesting when you talked about your compulsive need to defeat Yugi. Do you want to talk about it?" She spoke carefully, tactfully, and yet was able to make it sound as if she actually cared about his well-being.

"Not really," Seto replied tersely.

"Okay then, I will," she replied with the glib insolence of a younger sister, and a slight smile to indicate that she was actually enjoying this.

"No."

"No? Why not?"

Seto stared at her in silence, and she merely waited for his response. Ten minutes ticked by, and there were only five minutes left for their session.

"Well, I would recommend that you try and take a little time out of each day to relax a bit. Given the amount of responsibility that falls on your shoulders, you're constantly under high levels of stress, and you need to watch your blood pressure."

Seto didn't even nod, simply watched her as she got up and left his office. He immediately resumed working. Business as usual.

 _Relax._ Seto pondered her advice as he finally gathered his things at the end of the day. Well, the end of his workday, which was usually no sooner than nine o'clock, but tonight had ended around eleven. Such was the life of the young CEO and workaholic.

 _How does one relax?_ Mokuba had fallen asleep in a chair outside his office, waiting for his big brother. Seto gently carried him out to the waiting limo, letting him lay on his lap as they drove home. Not that they had much of an emotional attachment to their residence, but it was the place they lived, and as such was a refuge.

 _I don't have time to relax._ Once inside, he armed their state-of-the-art home security system. He'd learned over time that he simply couldn't take any risks when it came to Mokuba's safety. He placed his briefcase on the kitchen table before taking Mokuba to his room and rousing his brother enough to get him into his pajamas and tucked into bed. He then went to the kitchen and began to brew himself a cup of coffee. He wasn't in the mood to sleep tonight.

 _If I don't have time to sleep, how am I supposed to have time to relax?_ Well, perhaps he _could_ manage to sleep every night and still maintain the current progress and success of KaibaCorp, but Seto suffered from severe insomnia and couldn't ever seem to sleep well naturally. If he fell asleep at all, he would wake up every couple of hours. Or have nightmares. He shuddered at the mere thought of them, and immediately hated himself for doing so.

 _Sleep is for the weak._ He poured himself a hot mug of coffee before sitting down at the table and opening his laptop to resume working. Not even he could live without ever sleeping, so every few days he would take a strong sedative to knock him out for several hours at night, and that constituted sleeping. The sedatives were also strong enough to keep him from having any dreams at all. Then the cycle would start over again: two or three days without sleep, his nights spent working, then a dose of sedatives that let him recharge a bit before resuming work.

 _I am not weak._ Was this wise on his part? Well, it worked well enough for him, though he was almost certain that a doctor would tell him that he was being foolish. Seto, young, healthy, and arrogant as he was, wouldn't ever believe that he could be hurt by this or anything. He'd jumped out a window, climbed up the face of a cliff with a briefcase in his hand, stopped the hammer of a gun with a trading card, and had his soul trapped in the virtual world twice. He was indestructible, as far as he was concerned. Nothing and nobody could break him. Not anymore.


	4. Ryou's Deal

**Author Notes:** Greetings! Thank you for reading this and giving it a chance. This story will be long, but I hope you stick around to see where it goes! This whole story, starting with this chapter, was ultimately inspired by this piece of fanart: . (all credit to its creator). All reviews/critiques are welcome!

I must say, my favorite part in writing this chapter was Yami Bakura's rendition of Hansel and Gretel. XD

* * *

"Bakura!" Marik hollered at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing throughout the stone tomb they shared. At least, Marik had decorated it to be like the tomb he'd grown up in. Really, it was a basement apartment they rented in Domino City.

"What is it this time Marik?" Bakura growled as he followed the sound of Marik's voice down the hall. "I was in the middle of ordering a new knife online for my collection, so this had better be bloody important." He stood in the doorway to Marik's bedroom and put one hand on the doorframe, leaning against it and blocking the light from the hallway. Marik was sitting up in bed, looking absolutely terrified in the darkness.

"Bakura, can you please tell me a bedtime story?" Marik whimpered, sounding absolutely pathetic.

"What?" Bakura was clearly exasperated, and so irritated that he was about to leave.

"Please, Bakura? That movie was friggin' horrifying, and I'll have nightmares if you don't tell me a happy story!" Marik's pitiful, quavering voice and appearance would have been enough to sway a softer heart. Bakura started to turn away, but paused when Marik added, "And if I do have nightmares, then I'll wake up screaming for you in the middle of the night and disrupt _your_ sleeping!"

Bakura sighed. "Fine," he grumbled, and walked over to Marik's bed, sitting down on the edge and glancing over at his partner in crime. Marik lay down, pulling the blankets up to his chin and hiding his bare chest. "Once upon a time, there were two children named Hansel and Gretel. They were naughty little children, and ran into the forest where their mother told them to never go. They found a house made of candy and began to eat it, at which point the witch who lived there came out and butchered them with a chainsaw. She then baked them into pies and fed them to the children's parents. The end." He began to stand up, but Marik grabbed a hold of his shirt.

"Oh, come on, Bakura, that didn't help at all!" he whined. "Apparently you don't know what a proper bedtime story is!"

"No, my parents never read me any bedtime stories," Bakura muttered matter-of-factly.

"Can you please just stay here until I fall asleep?" he murmured.

Bakura sighed deeply. "Fine, but I'm leaving as soon as you _do_ fall asleep."

Marik tugged on Bakura's shirt and got him to lay down on the bed beside him. Soon, Marik had fallen asleep, and Bakura glanced over at his companion. Bakura stood up carefully and stripped, dropping all of his clothes on the floor before sliding into bed beside the equally naked Marik. Because Marik was asleep, Bakura felt comfortable enough to put his arms around him and close his eyes, sleep quickly overtaking his depraved mind. He just loved trolling his host like this.

In the morning, Marik was confused to wake up and find himself in Bakura's arms. Surprised and secretly, extremely pleased, way deep down. He smiled and bopped his partner on the nose.

"Good morning, Fluffy!" he chimed cheerfully. Bakura stirred, and after a few moments, opened his eyes. It was Ryou, not his Yami, and Ryou was deeply startled to find himself in this situation. His eyes grew wide, and he scrambled across the bed away from Marik, hugging the blankets over himself, starting to blush with embarrassment.

Marik was confused by the sudden appearance of Bakura's host. "Bakura, Bakura, wake up!" Marik yelled at the Millenium ring where it lay on the floor. "Bakura, wake up! Your host is giving me a funny look!" When Marik got out of bed to go get the Millenium ring and see if there was any way to cajole his frienemy from his soul room, Ryou high-tailed it out of there. He went to his room, grabbed his cell phone and some clothes, then locked himself in the bathroom. He dialed Yugi's number, then held the phone to his ear, praying Yugi would answer it.

"Hello? Bakura?" Yugi answered tentatively, unsure if it was Ryou or his Yami who was calling. Although, when it was Yami Bakura and Marik calling, they usually called from Marik's phone.

"Yugi, I'm so glad you answered," Ryou breathed out in relief.

"Is everything alright, Bakura?" Yugi asked worriedly. He had very little contact with Ryou these days, mostly because his Yami was in control so much of the time.

"Can I meet you for coffee in about an hour? There's something I want to talk to you about." Ryou was sitting on the floor by the bathroom door, listening for any signs of Marik approaching. That lavender-wearing fruit-tart terrified Ryou in a very specific way.

"Sure. At the usual place?" Yugi was worried about Ryou; his Yami had far too much power to suppress Ryou's soul, which he cared to do for most of the time, it would appear. Yugi was relieved that he had a cooperative relationship with his Yami and not a manipulative one.

"Yes, that sounds good. I'll see you soon." Ryou hung up and took several deep breaths before standing up. He showered, dried off, and dressed as quickly as he could. He didn't know how much time he had before his Yami decided to come back. He got out the lock-box he hid under the floorboards under his bed and pulled a twenty out of his wallet before putting the lock box back and hiding the key. He slipped the twenty and his cell in his pocket then ducked his head out of his room. Marik was still yelling at the Millennium Ring. The coast was clear.

Ryou snuck out of the basement and closed the door quietly behind him, emerging into the outside world and feeling the sunlight for what was the first time in months. He immediately began walking at a brisk pace towards the designated meeting place, drinking in everything with his senses, not knowing how long he'd get to enjoy his time above ground.

When Yugi reached the coffee-shop, Ryou had eaten a sandwich and was drinking a cup of tea at a table by the window. He seemed tense, but looked a little bit relieved when he saw Yugi. Yugi went straight to the table and greeted Ryou, sitting across from him.

"So, you wanted to talk to me about something?" Yugi asked. Ryou looked so stressed, he didn't want to beat around the bush and waste time with small talk.

"How do you do it, Yugi? Interact with your Yami, I mean. _I_ have no control over what's happening at any given point in time, when it comes to my Yami. Sometimes weeks go by before I even get to surface again, and when I do, I'm always starving and not awake for very long. And I always find myself in the _strangest_ situations." Ryou's cheeks turned red, and Yugi decided not to ask. "And he's got this huge knife collection! Every time I wake up, it's gotten bigger, and I'm certain that it's not just for show."

Both hikaris were silent for a few moments. "So . . . What can I do?" Ryou asked quietly, looking desperate.

Yugi paused and touched his Millennium puzzle, closing his eyes for a moment.

"You must exert your will over the spirit of the Millennium ring," the Pharaoh said sagely, looking up at Ryou, who immediately sensed their soul switch. "It is possible, but it will be difficult. It is important, though, that you don't back down to him. Given that he prefers a life of crime to one of honor, you're relationship will be tricky. He'll hardly settle for being trapped in the Millennium ring all of the time, and he's clearly too strong for that to even be an option for you. It will be a struggle, and you'll have to learn to negotiate with him. You'll need to find a compromise that you can both live with. If the Millennium ring works anything like the Millennium puzzle, you should be able to summon the spirit for a 'meeting of the minds' simply by holding the ring and focusing your energy on it. Good luck, Ryou."

"Thank you Yugi, and Pharaoh," Ryou said with a small smile, looking a bit more relieved and a bit hopeful as well. He sipped his tea, draining the cup, and smiled. "I really hope this works. I don't know how much longer I have, so I suppose I should go and try it out now. I left the Millennium ring with Marik; he was yelling at it trying to summon my Yami when I left." Bakura stood and stretched his arms. "Thanks again, Yugi. If I can, I'll let you know how it goes."

Ryou sat on the edge of his bed with the Millennium ring in his hands, the door locked for the sake of privacy. He closed his eyes and focused his spirit energy on the ring, summoning the spirit. He felt the spirit's energy, and his resistance, which Ryou took as a good sign. Then he felt his Yami yield. It was working.

Ryou opened his eyes to see his Yami's spirit standing in front of him with an extremely smug smirk. "It's about time," he rumbled in his gruff British voice.

"We need to talk," Ryou said, standing up. "I'm not going to let you bully me anymore."

Bakura laughed, sending chills down Ryou's back. "And how exactly do you plan to accomplish that?"

"Well, to start with, I'm forcing you to have an actual conversation with me. Usually you just stuff my soul into the ring and take over for indefinite periods of time." Bakura's eyes narrowed, and Ryou continued. "It stops here. This is _my_ body, and you have to respect it and me."

"I don't have to do any such thing," Bakura scoffed. "Up until now I've been capable of getting away with whatever I want; last time I checked, nothing has happened that would change any of that."

"I talked to Yugi this morning, and he gave me some advice on how to overcome you," Ryou said, steadily meeting Bakura's gaze. "So I suggest you start getting used to this, because you're not going to run free anymore. There need to be some ground rules for you to follow. And it _is_ in your interest to listen to me. After all, if you don't take care of this body (which you don't), it could end up getting sick. You need to allow me more time in control to ensure your own wellbeing."

Bakura pondered this for a moment. "What exactly did you have in mind?" he growled, looking dubious.

"You have to give me at least three days of the week. It can be any three days, it doesn't matter which ones, but I have a life too, you know, and I hardly see my friends anymore, or anybody for that matter. And no more tattoos!" Ryou added, turning pink with anger. "We're getting that removed; actually, _you are_ , since you're the one who got it. And no piercings, for that matter." Bakura had started chuckling, which made Ryou indignant. "I'm serious! Also, I'd like to know why the last three times I've woken up, it's to find myself naked in bed with Marik?!" Ryou was fully flushed now, beyond embarrassed that this was his lot in life.

Bakura began laughing hysterically and maniacally. "What can I say; I'm gay," he responded matter-of-factly, sadistically pleased by how much that bothered his host.

Ryou was still red as he said, "But you can't just go around doing those things with _my_ body…"

Bakura suddenly stepped very close to Ryou, and though he was immaterial, Ryou almost flinched. A waft of cold air made Ryou shiver. "Trust me," Bakura muttered menacingly. "If I'd actually done anything sexual, you would have felt it in the morning." While Ryou was stunned by those words and still groping for a response, Bakura asked calmly, "By the way, what's Marik doing now?"

"I-I think he's trolling Yugi's YouTube account," Ryou stammered, averting his eyes. It was unnerving to be faced with someone who looked exactly like you, and was yet so very different in mind and spirit. Again, Ryou envied Yugi and his relationship with his Yami. Yugi didn't have to negotiate with a murderer for time in his own body.

"You can have more time to use your body, but you're doing all the chores around here: dishes, laundry, cooking, and anything else we tell you to do."

"Fine," Ryou breathed out, relieved. He didn't mind having to do chores if it meant that he actually got to live his life. "But do we have to live with Marik?" he asked, clearly distressed by this fact.

Bakura smirked. "Just look at him, he's hardly equipped to handle real life all on his own!"

"Doesn't he have an older sister?"

"Yes, but he doesn't want to move back to Egypt. Besides, we're partners." Ryou blushed, which made Bakura laugh yet again. "Not that kind of partner; we're partners in crime, and it's so much more convenient if we live together." He suddenly turned serious, a menacing note entering into his voice. "Don't even think of trying to move out or run away. I can still hurt you if I want to." Yami Bakura lay his hand on Ryou's chest, over the spot where the Millenium ring had buried its prongs under Ryou's skin in the past.

Ryou shuddered and nodded somewhat meekly. That had been one of the most physically painful experiences of his life, and he was not keen to repeat it.

Bakura smirked with satisfaction, then took a step back from Ryou. "Well then, you'd better get started. We're almost out of clean clothes." With that Yami Bakura disappeared back into the Millenium ring, to do only heaven knew what.

Ryou sighed and sat back down on the edge of the bed, shaking. He hadn't faced his Yami in a long time, and he was just as threatening now as he had been when they'd first met. It never got easier to talk to him. Ryou shuddered again and ran his hand over the spot on his chest where Bakura had pressed his ethereal hand.

Well, this was progress. They'd never be one and the same, like Yugi and the Pharaoh. They'd never get along perfectly, and they'd never have the soul connection that Yami and Yugi had. But this was a viable arrangement. It was progress.

And with that thought, he put his hair up in a ponytail and set out to get started on the laundry.


	5. Kaiba's Brother

The next time Akira came for her appointment with Seto, she was surprised by how much he ended up speaking.

"I want you to talk to Mokuba today instead of me. He's been kidnapped several times now, and I need to make sure that he's not significantly scarred for life." His tone initially came across as callous, but she knew that he wouldn't have said such a thing unless it mattered to him that Mokuba not be permanently traumatized.

"Of course," she responded. She'd met Mokuba briefly before. He was Seto's little brother by blood, neither of them Kaiba by birth. He was a good kid, but hearing this news made her worried for him. "Can you perhaps give me the details of these events?"

Seto seemed vaguely annoyed with this request, but he complied without complaint. She took notes on what he said, and actually managed to learn a lot more about Seto than she normally did in their therapy sessions.

Then it came time for her to sit and talk with Mokuba in one of the conference rooms while it wasn't being used.

* * *

By the end of the hour, she had more questions than ever about Seto Kaiba. She knew the basic facts of his past, but very few of these facts indeed were available to the public, and he seemed disinclined to talk about himself, even though he was paying her for their therapy sessions.

Mokuba needed help, that much was clear to her. No, he wasn't in a crisis state, but if she didn't intervene now, he could have serious problems in later life. Once she returned Mokuba to his schoolwork, she went to speak with Seto.

"Mokuba needs more social interaction with children his age," she began, only to be interrupted by his curt reply.

"Not gonna happen."

She stared at him for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Why not?"

He looked up from his spreadsheets to meet her gaze. "Because there are no private schools that I could send him to in Domino City, and there are too many bullies at public school. I would never send him away to a boarding school, so the only option for him is homeschooling."

She could tell that he'd thought this through. "He needs more social interaction with younger people, Seto. Even if it's people closer to your age than his. He'd probably find teenagers and college students more interesting to talk to since he's so intellectually ahead of other kids his age."

They went back and forth about it for a little while longer before they ran out of time, and she promised that they'd resume the conversation next time.

* * *

Akira sat back in her armchair that evening with a hot cup of tea and a fuzzy blanket as she went over her notes on Seto Kaiba. Six months, and finally a breakthrough. She knew that he couldn't be a hopeless case. Everyone cracked eventually. She'd learned so much about him today that she needed some extra time to organize her thoughts on him.

He was a devoted older brother who'd always done what was best for Mokuba in the long run, even when he was a child. She'd teased the story of his chess match with Gozaburo out of his brother when he was recounting the story of when he was kidnapped by their step—brother Noah. Seto'd refused to abandon Mokuba in the orphanage, even when it meant forgoing his own adoption. He'd threatened suicide in Duelist Kingdom, because he couldn't live with the reality of having failed his brother and dooming him to a soulless life as a puppet of Pegasus and the Big Five.

He _lived_ for his little brother, and this she had discovered from Mokuba's story about their childhood in the Kaiba mansion. Mokuba had relayed to her the confession Seto had made to him: "There's something I never told you, Mokuba. You once saved me. By making that card for me, you encouraged me not to give up. You gave me something to strive for." Which implied that he'd had _nothing_ to strive for before that point, that he _had_ been close to giving up. Seto Kaiba may be a goal-oriented man driven by ambition, but if his goals and his drive were taken away, he would be left feeling rather empty.

Additionally, she'd diagnosed him with a severe superiority complex, so she would need to break that thought pattern in their next appointment. That would be a challenge, but she was up for it. Besides, she had time to prepare. She was finally catching a glimpse at the heart of gold that Kaiba kept hidden and guarded behind his ego and his accomplishments and, she dared to say, his fears. Nobody was without fear, and Seto Kaiba was no exception.


	6. Ryou's Job

After confronting his yami and making a deal, Ryou's life got much better. He got a part-time job at his favorite cafe as a barista, did the chores around their basement apartment on a regular basis, and he even got to run errands, like buying the groceries, which ensured that he got out of the house during his non-working hours. He was even starting to get used to Marik. His life was somewhat busy, and he liked it that way.

Of course, he had to hide all of his money and bank account information from his yami, but that had been successful so far. No breaches in security, as far as he could tell. He was able to see his friends every now and then, and Bakura had been fairly decent about not messing with him when he was working or doing anything in public. Of course, that meant that Ryou had to surrender any expectation of Bakura _not_ messing with him when he was inside their apartment. For now, he was more of a nuisance than a serious threat, and Ryou was content with his life: he was happy, for the most part, and he even felt pretty normal at times.

Marik too was more of a nuisance than a threat; Bakura simply held a far greater potential for devastating violence than Marik did, especially since Marik's darker side had been sent to the Shadow Realm. Bakura was the evil genius, but Marik had resources that Bakura didn't have, which is why they were partners. At least, that was Ryou's theory, in addition to them just being friends. Well, maybe they were a little more than friends, but he didn't like to think about that.

He had even developed a crush on one of the regular customers at the cafe. He unfortunately had mixed feelings about the fact that he'd developed a crush, but nothing he felt for her was at all mixed: she was physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually radiant, beautiful. Even her name was lovely: Amaya. He loved and respected her wholeheartedly. She made him feel more human than anything else.

But there was a problem: he didn't think it was possible to have anyone in his life like that while he had his yami, and he didn't know if he'd ever be free of Bakura. It was too great a risk to take.

* * *

A couple weeks after coming to this decision, he was working his shift when he noticed Amaya sitting at a table in the corner, textbooks and papers in front of her as she studied for her classes, but she looked incredibly distressed. He brought her the third mug of lavender tea she'd ordered in the past two hours.

"Thank you," she murmured, seeming very much unlike her normal self. Ryou hesitated. He wanted to say something to her, but he didn't know if it was really his place to do so. He quickly decided that her wellbeing was more important than his own reservations.

"Is everything alright?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine," she responded unconvincingly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Ryou glanced around; business was slow at the moment, so he could afford to spare a minute for her without getting in trouble.

"Are you sure? Because you don't seem alright." He spoke hesitantly and gently, aware that it was entirely possible that he was asking things he had no right to ask. If she were to spurn his company now, he wouldn't blame her. Instead of sending him away, though, she burst into tears in that moment, pressing her hands to her face as she tried to hide it. Ryou, with a look of pity, sat in the chair across from her.

"Tell me what's wrong," he asked gently, wanting to do everything he could to make her feel better.

"There's just so much I have to _do_." She sounded both stressed _and_ distressed as Ryou pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to her. She accepted it with murmured thanks, drying her eyes as best she could as she continued to cry. "I have a paper due tomorrow that's only half written, and a a mid-term the day after, and I don't know how I'm going to get all of this reading done." She sighed heavily in despair, then let her head drop to rest on her textbook with a thud, her forehead pressed against the page. In different circumstances, it would have been more amusing.

"I think you underestimate yourself," he said after a moment. She didn't reply immediately, so he kept going. "I may not know you very well, but I can tell that you're intelligent and ambitious based on the amount of homework I see you do here. You work hard because you have big plans for your life, yes?" She nodded without lifting her head. "Sometimes things get harder for a while. A lot harder, and we may think that we can't get through it. But if we try to handle the problem one bit at a time, it becomes a lot easier to manage." He scratched his head nervously, feeling uncertain of himself. he'd never been in this position before, after all. Usually he kept to himself, neither receiving nor giving advice. "Does that make sense?"

She sniffled and blinked, then offered him a weak smile. "Yeah, it does. I'm sorry for falling apart like that."

"Don't be sorry." Ryou smiled back at her, hoping that his face wasn't as red as it felt. "We all have days like that every now and then. Just focus on one task at a time, and you'll get it all done, I'm sure."

They exchanged a few more words before he went back to work. On his break, though, he bought her a blueberry muffin and sat with her to check on her progress. She seemed to appreciate his concern as much as she enjoyed his company. Even after his break, he would check in on her every now and then to make sure she was doing alright. She stayed until closing, just like him, but before they parted ways, she gave him his handkerchief back. He looked down at it for a moment, then back at her.

"Are you free next Saturday?"


	7. CRISIS

The earthquake hit while Kaiba was on his way to a summit meeting, causing him to stumble and grab the wall to keep his balance. When it was over, he stood up and called Mokuba on his phone. "Mokuba, are you alright?" he demanded, the violence of the earthquake making him concerned for the fragile child.

"Seto, she won't wake up!" came Mokuba's frantic voice after a moment.

"What?!" His brother's words struck him in the chest like a physical blow, more than he ever thought they could. "What happened?"

"Sh-She hit head. Seto, I'm scared…"

"Where are you?"

"On the stairs between the 17th and 18th floors," Mokuba answered after a few moments.

"Mokuba, I'm coming, don't move." Seto then hung up and called the emergency paramedics he kept on call. He wasn't going to be taking any chances. Minutes later, he was racing down the stairs at breakneck speed to join his brother. That was when the second earthquake hit, and Seto slipped on the stairs, cursing as he hit the floor of the landing, his arms wrapping around his head to protect it.

As soon as the tremors stopped, he was on his feet again, his thoughts focused on getting to them as quickly as possible, not letting himself consider all the bad things that could have happened. He was there in a manner of minutes, though it felt like an eternity. Soon, he was crouching by her unconscious body on the landing of the stairs, hugging Mokuba tightly to reassure him. She was unconscious, not dead. Thank goodness.

"Don't worry, Mokuba, the paramedics will be here soon," he said, his calm tone belying his inner emotional turmoil. He gently set Mokuba aside and lifted her head gently to see if there was any bleeding. There was. Damn it. He pulled out his handkerchief and folded it, pressing it to the wound to stop the bleeding. "When the paramedics get here, we'll all be boarding the KaibaCorp blimp until the danger has passed."

"Are we going to bring Yugi and his friends on the blimp too?" Mokuba asked, concerned for them in a way that Seto never was.

Seto sighed. "If you want to tell them where to meet us and when, and they actually get there on time, they can board it, but I won't be going out of my way to get them."

Mokuba nodded and pulled out his cell phone, calling Yugi as quickly as possible. Seto stared down at Akira, attempting to unravel the incredible tangle of intense feelings inside him. He was afraid of how hurt Akira might be, and that fear told him beyond denial that he cared for her strongly in some way, but he couldn't figure out why. Moments after Mokuba hung up, the paramedics came, and Seto stepped aside, picking up Mokuba and carrying him all the way to the blimp, even as the paramedics did the same with Akira.

A few hours later, Seto was sitting at her bedside, working as he waited for her to wake up. It turned out that the cut on her head was minor enough to only need butterfly stitches, which was a relief. Even more of a relief was the fact that Mokuba was unharmed by the incident. Before his brother had left to go be with the dweeb patrol, Seto'd had him checked over by a medic to make sure that he was entirely unharmed.

He glanced over at the unconscious therapist again, unsure of why he cared whether or not she was alright.

No, he didn't care, he reminded himself firmly. He just needed her to wake up so that she'd sign the papers promising that she wouldn't sue the company for the injuries she'd sustained in the earthquake. That was all.

* * *

There was a severe power outage all over Domino. Water mains had been broken all over the city, and many people had fled until the damage could be remedied and the city made habitable again.

As such, Yugi and friends were immensely grateful that Mokuba had procured them a place on Kaiba's blimp. The earthquake had hit in the middle of Ryou's date with Amaya, so she was there along with Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Joey, Duke, Serenity, and Marik. Bakura had refused to let Ryou get on the blimp without Marik. Amaya didn't know that they were roommates, and Ryou was content for Marik to keep to himself for now.

It seemed like they were going to be on the blimp for a few days, which would give Amaya plenty of time to get to know Ryou and his friends. Maybe too much time. That evening, Amaya and Ryou were talking together in her room. Ryou and Marik were sharing a room that night, though. They'd needed to pair up as roommates because there weren't enough rooms for all of them to have their own.

"I had no idea you were a finalist in the Battle City Tournament," Amaya said, looking impressed as Ryou tried to hide his nervousness. He'd hoped to avoid any discussion of the Battle City Tournament and the mysterious hospitalizations it had caused. "Or that you knew Seto Kaiba."

"He used to go to our high school, before he finally gave up on trying to graduate and focused on his company instead," Ryou explained. "We're probably the best friends he has, and we're hardly more than acquaintances."

"That's kind of sad," Amaya murmured, twirling a lock of Ryou's hair around her finger absentmindedly. After a few moments, she realized what she was doing and that Ryou was watching her, and she dropped it quickly with a blush. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, but Ryou just laughed it off good-naturedly.

"It's alright, I'm used to it," he said kindly, looking pleased. That was one of the reasons girls had flocked around him back in high school: for whatever reason, they'd all simply _adored_ playing with his hair. "We should probably get some sleep now, though," he said as he stood from his chair. "Do you think your classes will be cancelled on Monday?"

"Probably. I'd be surprised if they _didn't_ cancel classes, given the state of the city." She looked hesitant for a moment, then stepped forward and kissed Ryou's cheek. "I had fun today, even though our date was interrupted."

Ryou blushed fiercely. "I did too. When we get back to Domino and everything's back to normal, I hope we can go this again sometimes. Minus the natural disaster, of course."

"Of course," she replied with a giggle. "I would like that. Goodnight, Ryou."

"Goodnight."


	8. Kaiba's Bed

**Author Notes** **: I know I haven't properly updated this story in ages. It was the first fanfic that I started writing, thought not the first one for me to post. I've lost the plot in my mind, and I could have sworn that I had more of it actually written, but apparently not. Instead of leaving you all hanging, I've decided to post all the pieces that I** ** _did_** **have. Ya'll are smart cookies, so I trust you to figure out what necessarily happens between the gaps, and I give you creative license to fill in the rest of the gaps any way your imagination wishes to do so. ;)**

 **On another note, because this was my first fanfic, you probably will see elements in this story that were carried over into the first two stories I posted on this site: "Bruises and Bitemarks" and "Don't Forget To Remember Me."**

 **Without further ado, I give you the rest of this story. :)**

* * *

"You should go to sleep too, Seto," Akira murmured as she rolled over to do so herself.

"I don't sleep," he replied simply, continuing his work. At the moment, he was mostly just responding to emails from his employees on various matters.

Akira turned to face him once again, looking confused. "What do you mean you don't sleep?"

"I have insomnia," he said stiffly. She could see that it cost him something to admit it. "And even when I do manage to fall asleep, I usually wake up after a couple hours anyways."

"Why? Do you have bad dreams?" she asked quietly, knowing that he would never come out and say it on his own unless she prompted him to.

Seto glanced away from the bright screen of his tablet and nodded, his jaw clenched. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he tried not to think about the dreams that tended to wake him.

Akira didn't say aloud that it was adorable and humanizing to hear that the CEO of KaibaCorp suffered from nightmares. What she did say was, "You know, you can always talk to me about them. That's kind of what a therapist is for." Although she wasn't technically his therapist now that they were romantically involved, she was still a therapist and still capable of helping him.

He glanced back at her, looking suspicious, almost uncertain, and Akira gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I promise I won't tell anyone." They were both silent for a few moments, then Akira added, "You really should go to sleep Seto. Operating on little to no sleep is really bad for you."

He contemplated this for a moment, then asked quietly, "Will you come with me?"

Akira looked up at him in surprise, then her eyes softened. She understood. He was afraid, he didn't want to be alone with his demons. "If you want me to, then of course," she murmured back. He set his tablet down on the table and stood, then scooped her up in his arms, much to her surprise. He carried her all the way to his room, where he lay her down on the bed and kissed her forehead gently, the tender gesture a small expression of the concern he had for her concussion, acquired in the earthquake.

"I'll be right back," he whispered, and she smiled back at him.

"I'll be here." As he strode away to his closet, Akira snuggled down between the silk sheets, the luxury making her feel even drowsier. She dozed off while Seto was gone, but was roused as he joined her in bed, reaching out to pull her close. She felt her back press against his bare chest, and her cheeks flushed. Seto seemed content to try and sleep, so long as she was close.

Akira rolled onto her back so that she could press a kiss to his cheek. "Sleep well, Seto," she murmured, giving him a smile. If she knew of some way to take his nightmares away for good, she'd do it. What a pity that he couldn't even sleep well to de-stress from his day. Then something caught her eye, giving her pause. She reached up with one tentative finger to trace the tail end of a scar on his shoulder that seemed to extend to his back.

"Seto, what happened?" she murmured, worried. His jaw clenched again, unwilling to answer. But he did sit up, letting her see the extent of the damage. Scars covered his back, the patterned remains of purposeful and systematic abuse.

Akira was shocked, and felt her heart tear in pity for him. She sat up and put her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could, as if she could erase that pain with her embrace. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," she whispered sadly.

"It's alright," he said with difficulty, hugging her in return. "Let's just go to sleep."

Akira nodded in assent, and they resumed their former snuggling. She couldn't help but wonder what secrets his past held, what former pains he hadn't told her about. Hopefully some day he'd confide in her, some day soon, because the sooner he talked to her about it, the sooner she could help him.

Even with this weight on her heart, she fell asleep much sooner than Seto.

* * *

Akira's presence alone was not yet enough to banish Seto's nightmares. He twitched in his sleep, grunting and crying out, waking up in a cold sweat with his heartbeat pounding in his own ears. He jerked into a sitting position, panicked and panting. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped, then sighed as he saw who it was.

"Seto, breathe, it's okay," she murmured, rubbing his back gently and pulling him against her in a gentle embrace. "Just breathe, I'm here." He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck as he fought the shaking in his bones. She stroked his hair and kissed his forehead, doing what she could to bring peace to his mind and soul.

"Are you alright, Seto? Do you want to talk about it?" she ventured faintly after several minutes. She understood, perhaps better than anyone, the barriers that he used to guard his heart and mind. He closed his eyes, shuddering. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she added, knowing full well that talking about himself and his troubles was not his favorite activity.

"I'll be alright," he sighed, averting his eyes. Even so, he felt incredibly tense in her arms. She gently unwound his arms from around her, and he glanced up at her, vaguely confused.

"Hold on a moment," she murmured with a smile, crawling across the bed to sit behind him, her legs extended alongside him.

"Wait, what are you—Nnngh…" Seto was cut off by his own grunt of surprise and pleasure as her hands began to expertly massage his back, working out the knots in his muscles.

"Wow, you really need to relax more often. I don't think I've felt anybody this tense before." Seto didn't have a response to that; he wasn't sure he could have spoken if he'd tried. He'd forgotten what it felt like to relax. It felt _good_. Akira knew this of course, because she knew that dopamine was being released in his brain, causing a spike in pain-relief and pleasure. She smiled, glad that she could do him some good without making him feel _too_ vulnerable. She was still bothered by the scars on his back, but she wasn't going to bring them up again until he was ready to talk about it. Besides, he had her now, and she knew certain effective strategies for fading even old scars.

She worked on him for a while, until she thought she had done as much good for him as she could in one sitting and without any massage oil or lotion. She slid her hands around his torso, hugging him from behind. "Remind me to work on your back tomorrow too. It's going to take several sessions to get all of your knots worked out."

Seto reached around and ruffled her hair. "Come here," he rasped, and Akira lifted her head, loosening her arms and starting to crawl around to his side when he hooked his arm around her waist, rolling her underneath him in a single, swift movement. Her own breathing was unsteady as she stared up at Seto's blue eyes, which were fixed so intently on her, they seemed to burn. He slowly bent his head until his lips brushed against hers. Her eyes fluttered closed as her chin tilted upwards to press her lips more firmly against his. That was all the encouragement he needed.

He deepened the kiss in a careful, calculated manner. He was holding himself in check, not wanting to overwhelm or upset her with the intensity of his passion, a passion he'd kept secret for so long he'd thought that he'd certainly incinerate himself with it. Even so, she could sense the beast that paced restlessly inside of him. She was tempted to compare it to a tiger, but tigers were too fluffy. No, Seto was a dragon, just like his favorite trading card.

She cupped his face in her hands, kissing him with increased ardor and eliciting a reciprocal response. He groaned, his hands beginning to advance, wanting to know her better.

This was all new territory for Akira, so she was grateful that Seto took the lead without expecting any initiative from her. She was content to receive his attentions, urgent and tender as they were.

Then a sound entered into her consciousness that sent a jolt of fear through her. Seto heard it too and swore under his breath, looking incredibly annoyed. They waited for a moment in the darkness, still and silent but for the sound of labored breathing. Then it came again: a knock on the door, this time followed by a call from a distressed sounding Mokuba.

"Seto? A-Are you awake?" came his timid voice.

Seto started to sit up, and Akira grabbed his arm, panicked. The words expressing her concerns didn't come immediatelyto her, yet he managed to anticipate them before she even spoke.

"He probably had a bad dream," he said softly. "I'll just take him back to his room and get him settled down, you wait here."

Seto picked up his shirt and tugged it on as he approached the door, opening it partially and crouching down to hug his little brother.

"I-I had that dream again, Seto," he whimpered as he cried into his brother's shoulder. "The one with Gozaburo. Can I please sleep with you tonight?"

As Seto rubbed Mokuba's back in a soothing manner, he glanced over his shoulder at Akira, a vaguely pleading look in his eyes. She nodded. She couldn't say no to Mokuba when he was this upset. Seto assented verbally and stood up, carrying Mokuba to the bed with him and letting the child crawl under the sheets in the middle of the bed.

Either Mokuba was so upset by his dream that he didn't have the emotional energy to be surprised by Akira's presence in Seto's bed, or he was simply ignorant enough to not understand its significance.

"Don't worry Mokuba," she murmured gently, smiling as she let the child cuddle up to her in search of comfort. "You're safe here, with us. Nothing can hurt you now." He nodded, still sniffling, though he was making an effort to stop the tears.

Seto had, by now, joined the other two in bed, on the opposite side of Mokuba. He wrapped an arm around both of them, the only two people in the world that he loved, and lay his head on the pillow. Mokuba turned to face Seto, whispering in a fearful voice, "He's… really gone, right Seto? We're sure he can't come back?"

"No, he can't come back Mokuba. You're safe here, like Akira said. We'll never let anything bad happen to you." Seto's response was calm and steady, alleviating Mokuba's concerns enough that he lay down and closed his eyes, preparing to go back to sleep.

Seto and Akira exchanged a glance over Mokuba's still form. She was curious, but it was a concerned curiosity. If both of them were suffering from nightmares, Seto's back bore old scars, and Mokuba feared the return of their step-father, then there was cause for Akira to get involved, even just from a professional perspective. She could help them with this, whatever it was, but they'd have to _let_ her.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Seto finally said in a barely audible whisper. She nodded, content with his answer. She gave him a gentle smile and kissed his hand, hoping that one last expression of affection would be enough to hold his own nightmares at bay. He smiled at her one last time before closing his eyes for sleep. She did the same, content with the turn of events, despite the interruption.

* * *

She awoke still cuddling with Mokuba and Seto, the grey pre-dawn light filtering into the room and softening all its stark features. She felt her heart warm at the sight of the brothers, embracing even in sleep, both at peace only when unconscious. What darkness did they carry in their souls? She may have been Seto's therapist for several months now, but most of the personal details she knew of him she'd only learned in the past month or so.

They'd both become so dear to her, despite the elder's reticence and the younger's mistrust. After last night, it seemed like she was as dear to them as they were to her. A sudden burst of joy swept over her, and her eyes watered even as she smiled. The tears were prompted by both joy and sorrow. Joy, because in this moment, she had a family, or was at least close to having one. This was what it felt like to wake up and first see the faces of the ones you love before anything else, to feel safe and know that you are loved. Sorrow, because they weren't quite her family, not legally or nominally. She had no claim to them as anything but a therapist, and she couldn't even claim that for Seto now that she was involved with him. She had no promises to hold to, no guarantees, no certainty that a year from now, she'd still be with them.

More tears trickled from her eyes and she sniffled, pressing her face into the pillow to blot her tears.

"Hm? Is something wrong?" Seto lifted his head, having heard the sniffle, and peeked over Mokuba's mess of dark hair at her. She was crying. He'd never seen her cry before, and this alarmed him.

"No, I'm fine," she answered unconvincingly. Seto immediately sat up and crawled around Mokuba's small form so that he was now at her side.

"Tell me what's wrong," he demanded, gently but firmly. "Why are you crying?"

"I just… I don't want to lose this," she answered quietly. "You and Mokuba and I like this. I don't want it to end. I don't want to lose either of you. You're like family to me, and family's something I've never had before." More tears spilled down her cheeks as she spoke, and Seto wrapped an arm around her, hugging her close as he stroked her hair reassuringly.

"I love you. I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you or Mokuba. So please, don't cry." Please. It was such a rare word for Seto Kaiba, but even rarer were the words "I love you." Was she still dreaming?

"I love you too, Seto," she answered with a smile, burying her face into his chest as she fought the tears of joy that threatened to overwhelm her. After a few minutes of silence, she asked, "Seto, why wasn't Mokuba surprised to see me here last night?"

Seto waited a few moments before answering straightforwardly, "Because I've already told him that I wanted to marry you."

Akira gaped at him for a moment, her cheeks flushing, before she let out a cry of joy and threw her arms around his neck. "Yes," she whispered, smiling and crying simultaneously. Seto held her close as Akira imagined how he had informed his brother of such a thing. She could just see him mentioning it to his brother casually one day at the office, completely off-handedly at the most inappropriate moment. The very thought of it sent her into a fit of giggles, and when she paused to look up at Seto's face, his bamboozled expression sent her into another fit of giggles. The great Seto Kaiba had never before been faced with such a display of emotion: simultaneous laughing, crying, and smiling. He had no idea what to do, and he couldn't understand what was happening.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked, in answer to which she nodded vigorously. She let out a sigh and leaned into him, all of the emotions wearing her out, though she was still smiling broadly.

"Never been better," she answered, snuggling against him and closing her eyes for a moment as their hands clasped together, as if to never let go. By now, Mokuba was starting to stir, and as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, he seemed just as perplexed by Akira as Seto was. This only further amused her, and she held out an arm to the child, welcoming him into their embrace. The raven-haired child snuggled in between his brother and future sister-in-law, looking up at Seto questioningly.

"I don't think I've ever been this happy before in my entire life," she whispered blissfully.

"Good. I'm glad." Seto shrugged at Mokuba in answer to his curious gaze.

Akira opened her eyes and saw their expressions which caused her to laugh yet again, wiping away the tears from her cheeks as she did so. She didn't even have any words at the moment, she just reached up with one hand to caress Seto's cheek while she kissed the other. On impulse, Seto took her chin in his fingers and kissed her full on the mouth. It was the first time Mokuba had ever seen his brother exhibit any significant form of affection to anybody besides himself, and he looked appalled. When they pulled apart and saw his expression, they both started laughing, though Akira laughed more freely than Seto. Still, it made his small laugh that much more precious.

Those moments that morning became shining jewels in their memories. It was the start of something new for all of them: the beginning of a true family, the beginning of a much happier life, the beginning of a life filled with light and heart and peace for the brothers who'd been plagued by cold shadows all their lives. They were tentative to accept the laughter and joy she offered them, but as they gradually became accustomed to happiness, they also felt safe in its embrace. Life became so much better, even as she forced them to face the demons of their minds and memories.


	9. Ryou's Ring

In the middle of the night, Ryou felt pain. Intense pain. Familiar pain, though it had been a long time. It took his breath away and made him grit his teeth. "No, not again," he breathed in agony. He couldn't suppress the groan of pain that wrenched from his gut as he sat up, trying not to disturb Amaya as he stood and stumbled towards the bathroom. He heard her stir, and he inwardly cursed himself, even as he tried not to curse out loud from the pain.

"Ryou? I-Is something wrong?"

Her sweet angel voice made Ryou begin to regret ever asking her out in the first place. Not because he didn't care for her, but because he cared so much about her and what she thought of him. "Yes, everything's fine, go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you." He turned to face her as he spoke in a strained voice, suppressing the physical pain as he'd done in the past, because he always felt like a bother whenever he had to ask for any sort of help.

He shouldn't have turned around. The Millennium Ring was emitting a faint light, enough for Amaya to see it and the blood that had begun to trickle down his chest. Her eyes grew round, and she sat up quickly.

"What...? Why..." she whispered, shocked and concerned.

Ryou put his hands up, palms out. "I'm okay, don't worry. Go back to sleep."

Her gaze drifted from his chest to his hands. "Your hands... They're shaking." Her eyes caught his, and it became obvious to her that he was in great pain, that he was afraid, and that while he wanted her to keep her distance, he needed help. She stood up, unsteady for a moment. Then she stepped forward, saying, "Come on, let me get a better look."

He let her lead him into the bathroom and sat where she told him to, too distracted by pain to protest. She turned the low light on, and stared at his impaled chest in horror. He knew what she was thinking: Why on earth would he do this to himself? How had he managed to do it, for that matter? Was this some kind of sick obsession? She must think he was crazy, messed up, yet she didn't say a word.

Amaya simply wet a wash cloth and brought the tissue box with her as she knelt by him. She lifted a hand and began to tentatively reach for the Millennium Ring. Ryou grabbed her wrist, his hold weak, but strong enough to stop her. His hand was shaking, and he could hardly breathe as a full-blown anxiety attack shattered his grip on reality. What if the Spirit attacked Amaya? What if she hated him, feared him, loathed him after this night? What if she didn't believe him when he tried to explain the truth to her?

Amaya looked up, and knew in that moment that Ryou couldn't have possibly done this to himself. He was the victim here, and this hadn't been his choice. She kissed his cheek, then peeled his fingers from her wrist, vaguely sensing the rapid pulse of his desperately terrified heart.

"Breathe, Ryou," she whispered. "I promise, it'll all be over quickly."

She could tell that he made a conscious effort to obey her instructions. She touched the Millennium Ring gently with one finger, and was shocked to see it seem to slide further into Ryou's chest. His hand clenched her shoulder as a small sound of pain issued from his throat, his eyes squeezed shut. She was both impressed and frightened by his reaction: impressed, because she knew that she wouldn't be capable of being so still if it were her in his position; frightened, because she was worried that he'd had to deal with this before. How many times? Had he always dealt with it alone, too self-effacing to ask for help? Her heart ached for him, but she needed to stay focused if she was to do him any good.

She bit her lip, and didn't tell him to move his hand this time. She carefully guided the Millennium Ring out from under Ryou's skin, being slow and careful so as not to cause more damage or pain than necessary. Once it was out, she dropped the wretched thing in the sink and pressed tissues to the wounds. She let them stick to his skin and absorb the blood so that the bleeding would stop, then cleaned the blood from his abdomen with the wet washcloth. Under different circumstances, it would have been arousing.

Ryou's eyes were half-closed and unfocused, his arms limp at his sides now. He appeared to have no energy for anything.

"I'll be right back," she said softly, standing and fetching her first-aid kit, bringing it back and getting out the gauze, tape, and antibac. He remained deadly silent throughout the process as she tended to his wounds, which just made this whole scenario all the more disturbing. When she was done, she put all her first-aid things away, then turned on the sink tap to wash her hands. She watched numbly as the water carried the blood down the drain, then reached out to pick up the Ring. She cried out and dropped it back into the sink, clutching her hand. Ryou was at her side in moments, gently coaxing her hand into the open without saying a word, despite his previous near-catatonic state. The burn mark was visible on her palm and fingers, which perplexed her greatly.

"Th-The water was on cold…" she whispered, confused and stunned. Ryou kissed her burned hand, then hugged her close to his side. "Wh-What is that, Ryou? What's happening? Why is it hurting us?"

Amaya sounded so distressed that Ryou felt increasingly guilty. He owed her an explanation, he was just afraid that she wouldn't believe him. He sighed heavily, then murmured, "I'll tell you in the morning. Let's go back to sleep." He was still shaking violently, but he reached out and turned off the tap, then led her to their bed even as she helped him walk. Even though it must have pained him, he hugged her close and tight. He was afraid, she could tell that much; well, she was too.

She became even more afraid as hollow, sadistic laughter seemed to echo from the bathroom, sending shivers down her spine, even though it must have come from her own imagination. Even so, she was soon asleep.

* * *

Amaya kept glancing over at Ryou as they rode the train back to Domino. He was very good at hiding his pain, which concerned her. She also didn't know what to make of his story. When she thought clearly and logically about it, she concluded that there were only three possibilities: he was lying (it wasn't true, and he knew it), he was insane (it wasn't true, but he believed it), or he was telling the truth (it was true, and he was right to believe it).

She knew that he would never consciously lie to her. They'd been together long enough that she knew he was a good person at his core, even though he'd lost his family and struggled with so much. She knew that he believed what he said. Between his behavior following the incident and the pain he himself had endured, she found it impossible to believe that he was consciously lying.

She also found it impossible to believe that he had inflicted that pain on himself. For one thing, she would have been awoken by the sound of it. For another thing, she'd already been conscious when he woke up. She'd been awake for a minute or two when she'd heard Ryou wake up and whisper, "No, not again." Then there was the fact that the Millennium Ring, after being chilled with cold water, had somehow managed to burn her. And that moment when it had sunk itself deeper under Ryou's skin, like a living parasite... Amaya shuddered. That image in particular was burned into her mind, such that she could not doubt that it had happened, nor could she ever forget what that evil spirit had done to Ryou.

She believed him, if only because that which she'd witnessed with her own senses was utterly undeniable and his explanation made the best sense of it.

She glanced over at Ryou, who'd been extremely quiet all morning. When she'd woken up, she discovered that he hadn't gone back to sleep at all, but had lain awake all night. He looked exhausted and acted stunned.

 _"Some part of me hoped that this would never come up, that I'd never have to explain it all to you,"_ he'd said in agony that morning as he tried to do just that: explain everything to the puzzled and frightened Amaya. _"I know that it's hard to believe, but you need to trust that I'm telling you the truth."_

* * *

Ryou knew what was at stake just as much as Amaya did: if she chose not to believe him, if she thought he was lying to her, or worse, that he was insane, she could break up with him and refuse to see him ever again; in the latter case, she could also have him dragged into a psychiatric hospital under claims that he suffered from split personality disorder and was a potentially violent and dangerous person.

If that happened, Ryou supposed that his yami would probably revolt and break out of the hospital, so Ryou wouldn't have to suffer there long, but at what cost? What harm would his yami do in making their escape? Furthermore, such an escape could make him a fugitive. He knew that Yugi and their friends would know the truth about him, but he couldn't put them in danger by trying to hide with them. Marik would know the truth, but Marik was also a murderer, and Ryou didn't think it would be safe to hide with him in their basement apartment besides.

He could just see it now: he and his yami on the run from the police, under accusation of insanity, struggling between survival and doing what was right, in desperate need of food and shelter—

Ryou was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Amaya take his hand and interlock their fingers. He looked up at her, somewhat dazed. She smiled and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Everything is going to be okay," she reassured, managing to sound entirely confident of the fact. Ryou could only smile back at her weakly and kiss her brow before resting his chin on top of her head, his heart feeling heavy. There was so much that could go wrong. How could anything be alright?

"I can tell you're not convinced," Amaya murmured.

Ryou sighed, closing his eyes as he buried his nose in her hair. She always smelled like flowers, and the scent soothed him.

"I believe you, you know," she whispered, much to Ryou's relief and pleasure.

"You do?" he murmured in disbelief.

She nodded, blushing as he dropped her hand to put his arm around her waist and pull her close. "I just… don't understand a few things."

"Yugi's agreed to meet you at the cafe this afternoon to explain it better," Ryou informed her.

"Yugi?" she repeated, mildly surprised, but then she remembered that Yugi had an artifact with symbols similar to those on Ryou's Millennium Ring.

"Yes, he's experienced something similar with his Millennium Puzzle, although the spirit he shares with isn't evil. He's a pharaoh from Ancient Egypt who ruled roughly three millennia ago."

Amaya was taken aback by this new information. What most caught her attention though was the note of envy in Ryou's voice. She couldn't help but pull back and look at him curiously. What hadn't he told her?

Ryou saw the question in her eyes, and sighed yet again. "This spirit's done some pretty awful things, May. Not just to me, but to my friends and others." He was silent for a long moment, then hugged her close again. She could feel the Millennium Ring being pressed between them; she couldn't understand why he would want to be wearing it.

"I guess I just thought that if you don't know about him, it could somehow keep him from hurting you."

"It's going to be alright, Ryou. I mean, he hasn't hurt me in all this time, so it's not likely that that's going to change, I should think. And now that I know about him, I'm more equipped to protect myself from him should he try to hurt me. This doesn't change anything."

Ryou could only hope that she was right. They shifted and sat more comfortably, with his arm around her shoulders and her leaning against him.

"You said that only I was meeting with Yugi?" she clarified, feeling vaguely nervous about the prospect of meeting with Ryou's friend without Ryou there.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I need to talk to the spirit, and he's so bloody difficult, it'll take some time to get straight answers from him."

Amaya began to giggle, rather out of the blue.

"What?"

"It's just… your accent sounds so cute when you're angry." She continued to giggle, and her laughter eased a true smile from Ryou. They both relaxed and were able to somewhat enjoy the remainder of their train ride.

* * *

Ryou had given Yugi a phone call early that morning; he was lucky to catch him on his way to morning classes. Ryou quickly explained, in as little detail as possible, what had happened, asking Yugi for advice on how to explain his situation to Amaya. Ryou was so afraid that he'd mess it all up, so afraid that she wouldn't believe anything he said, that Yugi offered to talk with her and help explain things. That helped put Ryou's mind at ease.

Yugi and the Pharaoh explained their own relationship to Amaya before they explained what had happened in Duelist Kingdom with Yami Bakura, and how Marik and Yami Bakura had teamed up in Battle City. He told her how Ryou had been injured and hospitalized, how he'd then been controlled by both Marik and his Yami, how Yami Bakura was temporarily banished to the Shadow Realm until they managed to send Yami Marik there, thereby freeing Yami Bakura from the Shadow Realm.

Amaya took it all in stride, asking occasional questions, but mostly keeping silent. By the end of it, Amaya actually looked rather upset. "I-I had no idea," she murmured. "I mean, I knew that he lost his mother and his sister, and then his father, but I-I didn't know that he had to go through all of that as well…" Her heart overflowed with pity for him.

"He was trying to figure out how to tell you, but he didn't know how. I told him he shouldn't worry about it, though. After all, you two seem to really care for each other. And where there is love, there is trust."

Amaya blushed. "Thank you," she answered, not sure if there was any way that she could thank him enough for explaining all of this and helping her to understand.

* * *

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Ryou yelled at Bakura. "What did I do to warrant _that_?!"

"You left Marik all alone; he had nightmares, and I was incapable of shutting him up because you were gone."

Ryou smacked his forehead with his palm. "And _why_ did he have nightmares? Did you _actually_ watch all of the Cannibal Holocaust movies last night?"

"Yes, we did, and those are entirely unrelated to the nightmares. We also watched The Notebook, because Marik wanted to see it, and he had nightmares about Ryan Gosling breaking up with him."

Ryou sighed heavily and plopped down on the sofa. "But was _this_ really necessary?" he demanded, gesturing to his chest.

"Yes." Yami Bakura stepped forward and loomed over Ryou, who felt that familiar waft of cold air. The smug, facetious grin he'd been wearing was nowhere to be seen. "You left and didn't tell us where you were going or when you'd be back. For all I knew, you _were_ trying to run away. So of course, drastic measures were necessary."

"I have my own life, Bakura, and you're not in charge of it." Ryou threw the Millennium Ring on the floor as he stood and walked towards the door. "I'm done with this, and I'm done with you. This time, I am leaving, and I'm not coming back."

"You're welcome!" Yami Bakura yelled after him.

Ryou froze and turned around, a cold anger burning in him towards that arrogant spirit who'd ruined his life.

"What did you just say?"

"I said that you're welcome. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't know, and you'd still be so bloody anxious about how to tell her that you'd be mixing up Marik's purple shirts with my whites!"

" _My_ whites," Ryou grumbled, slamming the door behind him as he left.

* * *

"Yugi, do you happen to know Ryou's address?" she asked hesitantly, feeling vaguely embarrassed that she didn't even know where her boyfriend lived. "He's avoided telling it to me, and I suppose he's done so because of his yami, but I need to talk to him."

Yugi hesitated, then took out a pen and wrote Ryou's address on a napkin and handed it to her. "It's not too far from here, and you shouldn't have trouble finding it. I hope things go alright between you two!"

Amaya was reassured by his smile, and hoped as much as he did that everything would be alright.


	10. Kaiba's Wedding

Kaiba hadn't scowled this much in months. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt nervous about something. He hadn't felt nervous when he'd overthrown Gozaburo and taken control of KaibaCorp, or when he was dueling Pegasus for Mokuba's soul, or even when he was dueling Dartz for control of his company. It was the morning of his wedding, and his nervousness was playing out as irritability.

"Damn tie," he muttered to himself as he took off his tie and restarted the process of tying it properly. He'd been tying ties every day for over half of his life now, so why was it so bloody difficult to manage his tie this morning? Yugi chuckled to himself as he tied his own tie, amused by Kaiba's crabbiness more than anything else. When Seto had finally taken care of his own tie, he knelt down to help Mokuba with his.

"I don't understand weddings," the groom continued to mutter, much to his best man's amusement. "They don't make any sense. I still don't know why we bothered with a ceremony. It's tedious and unnecessary." Mokuba smirked, but said nothing.

"Because every little girl dreams of having a fairytale wedding, and even if they don't get the fairytale part, they still want a lovely wedding. It's the only day in their life that they can legitimately act like a princess." Yugi spoke with too much confidence in his words, and it bothered Seto.

"And how do you know all that?" Seto snapped as he straightened his brother's tie, dissatisfied with its angle no matter how perfect it was.

"I had Téa explain it to me," he answered, glancing over at Seto with amusement dancing in his eyes. When Seto finally gave up on trying to fix whatever he imagined was wrong with Mokuba's tie, he stood up, and Yugi started fastening the white rose bud in Seto's buttonhole.

"Weddings are stupid," Kaiba growled.

"You're just nervous," Yugi patronized, feeling incredibly smug that he had the opportunity to see his long-time rival feeling so jittery and vulnerable.

"Why the bloody hell would I be nervous?" Kaiba started to fidget with his cuff-links, and Yugi rested his hands on Kaiba's shoulders, making his friend look up at him in slight surprise. For a split second, his eyes betrayed his nerves before his mask of arrogant confidence snapped back into place.

"Exactly. You have no reason to be nervous, because everything is going to go smoothly. If she stayed with you this long, there's no reason she'd leave you now." He grinned at Kaiba mischievously as the groom glowered at his best man.

* * *

Life had never been better. Seto snuggled down with Akira under the sheets, closing his eyes as he inhaled the floral scent drifting off of her hair. This was good. He didn't understand how he had survived for so long without her in his life.


	11. Bakura's Crush

Amaya had gone to visit Ryou, intending to invite him to dinner with her family. She could have called him, but she wanted to talk to him in person. She was worried about him. It had only been a couple weeks since she'd been clued into his complicated life, and he still seemed shaken up about the whole thing.

Ryou hadn't been home, though. At least, not functionally. Marik and Yami Bakura were playing video games together, and she'd decided to hang around and wait for Ryou to resurface. Besides, she was curious about Ryou's roommates.

It was certainly entertaining to listen to them playing video games while she sat curled up on the couch with a book. She also learned some very interesting things from listening to their conversation, like the fact that Yami Bakura tended to refer to Ryou as his "host," and that he was as sadistic as Ryou had warned her, that he reveled in tormenting Ryou, which made her ache for him all the more. She also learned that Marik was not a fan of Mel Gibson movies, and that he thought very highly of himself and his appearance. Especially his posterior.

She also got to witness some very… unusual romantic tension between the two of them. She couldn't think of anything else to call it. Marik was so deep in the closet about being homosexual that he was practically in Narnia, and Yami Bakura was so openly gay that it was hard to believe that Marik was truly oblivious to his advances. And yet, Marik seemed to secretly return the affection. He'd confessed as much when he got seriously spooked by something in the video game and confessed his homosexuality and his affection for Yami Bakura, then immediately denied it all. The whole thing was strange.

This made Amaya feel uncomfortable for two reasons. Firstly, she, like Ryou, was Catholic, and believed homosexuality to be wrong. Yes, she felt bad whenever she saw someone suffering with unrequited love (she'd been in that position enough times before Ryou came along to know how much that hurt), but she hoped that they would find their satisfaction elsewhere. Secondly, this disturbed her because Yami Bakura was using Ryou's body, and, well… While it made her blush to think of the details of the implications, it made her wonder if Yami Bakura ever acted on those impulses. If so, then surely it caused Ryou discomfort, emotionally if not physically. It also put him at risk for certain diseases, which would also cause Ryou physical discomfort.

She could ask Ryou, but she knew she never would. For one thing, if she were in his position, it would be very hard to talk about. For another, he simply might not even know. After all, he did say that he would black-out for weeks at a time without any knowledge of what had transpired or even how much time had passed until he checked a calendar. No, she would never ask him, but she'd be sensitive to the possibility.

A snippet of the conversation caught her ear, dragging her out of her own thoughts. Yami Bakura made yet another advance, and Marik was opaque to it as usual. This time, though, Yami Bakura was fed up.

"Ra damn it, Marik!" he growled loudly. Amaya glanced up in time to see Yami Bakura grab Marik by his hair, yank his head back, and kiss him. Amaya looked away quickly, but the image was burned into her brain forever. She squeezed her eyes shut and was forced to listen to the lingering kiss instead.

"H-Hey, Bakura!" Marik cried as Bakura let go of him and left the room without looking back. Marik sat there, conflicted and confused, for a few moments. Then he sprang up, abandoning the video game as he chased after Bakura. Amaya opened her eyes, feeling profoundly uncomfortable and embarrassed to have witnessed what she had. A few moments later, she heard Ryou's voice cry out in alarm, and Amaya couldn't help but start to giggle as she imagined the adorable expression on his face when he awoke to Marik chasing after him for a kiss, even as she pitied the position he was in.

She soon heard Marik begin to yell at Yami Bakura, even as a perplexed Ryou entered the kitchen, without the Millennium Ring. She stopped laughing before she poked her head up over the back of the couch to smile gently at him.

He started when he saw her, but smiled all the same. He looked strange, though. Not just confused because he'd blacked-out for (at least) the past several hours, but unsteady, unfocused, and paler than usual.

"Hi," she said amiably as she stood from the couch and approached him. "How have you been?"

He seemed about to answer when he swayed, and began to collapse. She cried out his name as she lunged forward to catch him. He was shaking, and had closed his eyes. She lay him down gently on the floor, panic flooding through her. Why had he fainted? What was wrong?

She had just started to take his pulse as his eyes fluttered open, looking dazed and confused all over again. "Stay with me, Ryou," she murmured calmly, smiling to reassure him, even though she was worried.

"I'm bloody starving," he muttered, one hand pressed to his stomach.

"When was the last time you ate?" she asked, knowing full well that his Yami rarely ate when he was in control, if at all.

"Monday, I think."

"Monday?! Ryou, it's Thursday!" Panic flared up inside her, and she had to swallow it back. Ryou seemed neither surprised nor alarmed by how much time had passed. Had this happened before?

"Here, let's move you to the couch, and then I can make you some food alright?" She couldn't keep the strain of concern out of her voice, which was probably why Ryou smiled at her when he nodded. She managed to help him stand and made it as far as the couch before his strength gave out and he flopped down on the blue cushions, looking simultaneously pained and relieved.

"Would some soup be alright?" she asked, still holding his hand. He nodded, giving her hand a squeeze, then bringing it to his lips before kissing the back of it and letting her go. The tender gesture touched her heart; he was so weak at the moment that he couldn't even stand on his own, but he went to the effort of expressing his affection just the same. Of course, between her father and her older brothers, she'd learned that deep down, all men were actually very needy things.

She went to the kitchen and checked the pantry, finding some canned soups there that would help restore Ryou's strength. It didn't take her long to find the tools she needed, and soon there was a pot of soup simmering on the stove while Ryou dozed and Amaya washed the dishes that had accumulated in the sink. It seemed like Bakura and Marik were leaving them for Ryou to do, but he was in no state to be doing chores, and she had the time to do them besides.

* * *

After she'd fed him, Ryou began to feel much better. He was still weak, but his strength was returning, his stomach had ceased aching, and his shaking had stopped.

For now, he was happy to cuddle with Amaya on the couch, sleepy and content. He knew that he'd missed out on a lot, but he didn't care to ask any questions at the moment. The comfortable silence was sufficient to bring him peace of mind, despite the way his chest burned and ached with pain.

Amaya stirred and murmured his name, and Ryou lifted his head to look at her, winding one lock of her dark hair around his finger. "What is it?"

"I wanted to check your injury while I was here, to make sure it was healing alright."

Ryou hesitated ever so slightly, then nodded, sitting up fully as did she. He reached for his shirt and began to unbutton it, saying by way of warning, "My yami's been angry with me lately."

Amaya was about to ask what he meant by that when his wounds were revealed, and she suddenly understood. It was worse. In fact, it looked like the incident had been repeated all over again, recently, but without having been tended to properly.

Amaya was shocked and upset to see it, which made Ryou feel bad. "Why didn't you say something earlier?" she asked, feeling bad for not having noticed the pain it must be causing him.

"It wasn't the most important thing at the time," he said quietly, not looking her in the eye.

Amaya was quiet for a moment, trying to process what he'd said. In the meantime, she took his hand and said, "Come on, let me get you patched up."

He let her lead him to the bathroom, where he sat on the edge of the tub as she washed and treated the bleeding cuts on his chest. He didn't even flinch when she applied the neosporin, which told her something of the pain tolerance he'd acquired.

"Why is your yami mad at you?" she finally ventured as she secured the gauze with strips of medical tape.

Ryou sighed and shook his head. "It's complicated. I'll explain it to you another time, I promise." She wasn't willing to push the issue when he was in pain and had already promised to explain it later, so she merely nodded in response.

Once he was taken care of and had eaten something more, he proposed they go for a walk, and she agreed. They ended up deep in the park, and as sunset drew near, they sat on a bench to rest.

Ryou kissed her, and Amaya returned it with equal ardor. They'd missed each other, even though it'd only been a few days since they'd last interacted. He seemed hungry and desperate, and she did what she could to assuage his appetite.

After a while, they broke for air, and Ryou pulled Amaya against his chest, his arms wrapped around her.

"I can hear your heart-beat," she murmured, entranced by the steady sound and its implied intimacy.

Ryou ran his fingers through May's hair, nuzzling against her head before pulling her up again and resuming their kiss. He was more gentle this time, slower, more patient. She enjoyed it just as much as the first one. There was something on his mind, but he didn't want to talk about it. She wished he would open up to her.

When they broke this time, May cupped his cheek with her hand, and whispered, "What's going on in your mind, Ryou? You've been pretty quiet and I'm worried about you."

His brow furrowed, and he placed his hand over hers, turning his head to kiss her palm and then closing her hand on the kiss. He smiled, somewhat sadly, and put his arms around her again, hugging her close and placing his chin on her head. She could hear his heart-beat once again.

"Ryou, please talk to me," she murmured, concerned.

"I've been thinking about the future," he answered finally, his voice scarcely audible. "Do you remember when I asked you out for the first time? I almost didn't, simply because I was afraid my yami would ruin everything. I'm pleasantly surprised that we've gotten this far without any kind of disaster happening, but I'm afraid that it just means that disaster is in the future." His arms tightened around her unconsciously. "I don't want you to get hurt, and I'm afraid that I can't promise you won't be, and that I won't be able to stop him if he tries."

May felt the weight of his concerns, and suddenly understood everything. She smiled up at him and said, "Would you feel better if I took a self-defense class next semester?"

Ryou smiled wryly. "Somewhat, but I'm afraid that it wouldn't be enough."

"Ryou, I'm willing to take that risk because I love you, and anything else that might happen is worth risking in order to have each other."

Ryou's eyes softened as she spoke, and he pecked her forehead, looking extremely pleased. "I'm glad to hear you say that," he murmured. "It's pretty late. I should walk you home." He seemed happier now. Perhaps she'd finally gotten through to him.

When they were half way to her home, Amaya remembered that she'd wanted to ask Ryou to dinner with her family, and she was pleased when he agreed. He liked her family and got along well with them, and being with her family helped to soothe the ache when he missed his own. He kissed her cheek before parting with her at the doorstep. He'd hardly walked two blocks from her home before he felt a stirring tightness in his chest and the world went black.


	12. Ryou's Proposal

It was Monday that Ryou had bought May's engagement ring and gone to speak with her father. He'd gotten his permission to marry his daughter, much to his own relief, but he still had no idea how he was going to propose. He'd been pondering that when his Yami had appeared in his ethereal form and glowered at the open ring-box in Ryou's hands.

"You can't possibly be serious," he'd intoned cynically.

"Yes I am," Ryou answered calmly, looking up at his Yami with a cool expression. "I love her and she loves me. Why shouldn't I marry her?"

Bakura scowled, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe with a skeptical air. "Because weddings don't do anybody any good. I don't see what the big fuss is about." His mocking tone was meant to be hurtful, but Ryou couldn't be hurt by Bakura's derisive words when he looked at the engagement ring and imagined Amaya wearing it. "It's bloody impractical. It makes more sense to spend that money on trading cards."

"You're kidding, right?"

A snort was the only response Ryou got from Bakura, who stood there scowling, his expression growing stormier with every passing moment. Ryou had resumed staring at the ring, trying to work up the courage in his heart to propose to May the next time he saw her.

"No."

Ryou looked up at Bakura in shock. "What do you mean, no?" he queried, tensing in anticipation of the argument that was sure to follow.

"I forbid you from marrying her."

"You can't do that!" Ryou protested. The next thing he knew, Bakura was lunging for him as only a spirit could, and suddenly, the Millennium Ring was plunging its prongs into his chest and burning his skin like never before. He cried out in pain and writhed on the floor, surprised by the vehemence of Yami Bakura's attack. During this time, Yami Bakura took their souls to the spirit realm, which enabled him to grab Ryou by the front of his shirt and shake him until his teeth rattled.

"If you marry that girl, I swear I'll beat her to a pulp and let you wake up to being fucked by Melvin." His vicious ferocity paired with those wretched threats had shaken Ryou to his very core.

The last thing he wanted was to put Amaya in danger. Or to experience… that, with Marik's evil side. Or with Marik, for that matter. He loved May, he really did. Which is why he was now having second thoughts about his plans. He wanted to keep her safe at all expense, even if it resulted in his being tortured for the rest of his life by both his Yami and his regrets.

That was when he'd blacked out.

The next thing he knew, he was waking up to Marik's face inches from his own, and he cried out in panic, shoving the Egyptian boy away from himself and hurling the Millennium Ring away as well. Marik had scrambled after the artifact, calling after Bakura while Ryou found his feet and stumbled into the kitchen. Spending the next couple of hours with Amaya had certainly helped cheer Ryou up, but things went downhill soon afterward.

Bakura had taken over a couple blocks from May's house, and the next thing he knew, he was in his bathroom back home, with a serrated knife and a bottle of rubbing alcohol on the sink beside his Yami, who sat cross-legged with a vile grin. "You're not going to have dinner with her family this weekend," Bakura growled.

"Of course I am, wha—" Ryou was cut off by his own cry of pain as his Yami took over for the moment it took to grab the knife and slash Ryou's wrist. Ryou dropped the knife in disgust and seized his arm. "You can't…"

"Oh, yes I can. I'm perfectly capable of turning your life into an actual living hell. The most painful, terrifying thing you've experienced up until now will seem like child's play in comparison. I never had to negotiate with you, but I did, because it was in my interest to do so. I have nothing to gain from your being distracted with a wife, so I've chosen to prevent that from happening."

Ryou's anger flared up, and he began to protest, only to find himself with two more slashes and the taste of blood in his mouth.

"I should have nipped this little romance in the bud long ago," he snarled. "Better late than never, I suppose." He took control for another flash, and Ryou cried out as the nearly-pure alcohol sunk into his wounds and caused intense pain.

The torture continued infrequently for the next two days, with Ryou suffering from more wounds and getting no sleep. Quite the opposite: he was perfectly aware for all of it, even when he wasn't in control. That was actually a part of the torture, for it involved watching horror films and other unforgettable terrors. His body and soul were tortured for the next 50 hours by his Yami, and he was feeling completely horrid. The worst part was that he knew he was going to miss dinner with May's family, and he couldn't even tell her that he wasn't going to be there. He simply wouldn't show up, and she'd be left thinking that he'd simply forgotten about her.

He'd truly been a fool to think that any of this could have ever worked. He never should have tried to stand up to his yami. He should have known better than to try and negotiate with a sadistic psychopath.

* * *

Saturday afternoon, Amaya went to the cafe where Ryou worked to say hi to him, but she was surprised to see that he wasn't there. She asked after him with the barista who was there, who responded that Ryou had called in sick. This surprised her. Ryou hadn't been sick on Thursday. Weak, perhaps, but not ill. And if he was ill enough to not go to work, then surely he wasn't well enough to come to dinner tonight, and if that was the case, he would've told her. Something smelled fishy here, and May felt a growing sense of intense concern.

She hurried to his apartment and knocked on the door firmly. She waited and knocked a second time. Finally, Marik opened the door.

"Oh, it's you," he said rather apathetically, then turned and called out, "Bakura, Amaya's at the door. Should I let her in?"

May heard Yami Bakura's voice from inside, but couldn't make out what it said.

"Bakura says I'm not supposed to let you in. You have to leave now." He made to close the door, but May put her foot between it and the door-jam.

"Can I please talk to Ryou, then?" she pleaded. She felt her chest tighten with anxiety, feeling powerless to help the man she loved.

"Uh, no, Bakura's punishing him right now."

"Punishing him? For what?" Amaya said in surprised concern.

"For wanting to marry you, I believe. Bakura got pretty mad about that. Anyways, you should probably leave now." Marik tried to force her to back out, but May was done being passive. She shoved him back and forced her way through the door, only to find herself rooted to the spot in shock and fear with what she saw. Yami Bakura sat cross-legged on the couch, shirtless, the prongs of the Millennium Ring buried deep in his chest, a knife in his hand as he polished its gleaming blade. His fore-arms were slashed horribly, and the murderous glint in his eye sent chills down her spine. He chuckled, the sound cold and heartless. She'd never seen him like this before.

"Fancy seeing you here," he rumbled with contempt, almost as if he'd been expecting her. May was still too shocked to speak, so he continued. "I suppose you want me to stop disciplining your little boy-toy, is that it?" May blushed, flustered, and he grinned smugly. "Give me one good reason why I should."

"Because I love him." The words flew from the top of her mind to the tip of her tongue faster than lightning.

"You'll have to do better than that if you ever want to see him again," he retorted, unmoved.

"Don't you have a heart?!" she protested, exasperated and unable to grasp his utter lack of feeling.

He laughed hysterically, clearly mocking her. "That's cute," he growled. "You think I still have a shred of humanity left in me. I have no heart."

"Then let's make a deal," she suggested, finally starting to get a handle on the situation. She remembered that Yami Bakura was one for making deals, something like the sidhe of Celtic/Anglo-Saxon mythology.

"You have nothing of value that you can offer me," he retorted disdainfully.

"Then how about a duel," she offered instead. She had played Duel Monsters with her older brothers when she was younger, and she'd played with Ryou plenty of times. He'd even helped improve her deck, and she felt like she had a decent chance of beating him.

Bakura grinned in a way that disturbed May even more. "Then let's make it a game worth playing, and take it to the Shadow Realm: If I win, your soul shall be banished to the Shadow Realm forever!"

"The Shadow Realm?" she repeated. Yugi and Bakura had both mentioned it to her before, but she was still unclear as to what it actually was.

"I believe you would know it better as Hell," he explained with a sinister smile.

"And if I win, then I'm allowed to marry Ryou, and you can't do anything to delay, prevent, or interfere with that!"

"Then it's a deal." With that, the world around them faded into a purplish-grey swirl of darkness. As their surroundings faded out of sight, Ryou's soul faded in. He was staring at May with an unfathomable expression, one of pain and shock and hope and fear.

"Ryou!" she cried, surprised and relieved to see him. They ran to each other and embraced, the gravity of their situation settling upon them both and making their hearts heavy.

"Come on, let's get this duel started," Yami Bakura said, all too eager for his first Shadow Game in a few years. He was shuffling his deck, still seated on the couch, but now Marik had joined him, having nothing better to do than watch a Shadow Game play out between the evil spirit that possessed Ryou and Ryou's girlfriend.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Ryou murmured, worried, as he had every right to be. He went and sat with May on the couch opposite Bakura and Marik. May was hoping the same thing. Even though Ryou was here, it would be difficult for him to give her any help at all, direct or otherwise. She was scared, but she didn't feel it yet. She was focused, her mind clear. She knew what she needed to do, and she knew how to do it. She had some knowledge of what Yami Bakura kept in his deck, so she had an idea of what to prepare for and what he might try to do. Even so, she'd have to be careful not to act too much on her expectations.

All this ran through her mind as she shuffled her deck, preparing to duel.

* * *

Using the Change of Heart, May narrowly managed to defeat Yami Bakura, who was quite enraged by the outcome of events. Marik left as soon as the duel was over, and as the shadows engulfing them blurred away into haze, the familiar living room taking shape around them, Yami Bakura released his hold on Ryou, who found himself yet again in incredible pain, inflicted by his Yami, while in May's presence.

They immediately embraced again, this time with the knowledge of their victory to comfort them. Ryou held May as tightly as he could in his shaking arms, crying into her hair. The tears were caused partly by physical pain and partly by the shock of relief.

"It's okay, everything's okay now," she whispered, her heart breaking for him all over again.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he sobbed, hugging her tighter as if afraid that she would disappear.

"I'm here now, Ryou," she murmured, trying to comfort him. Her mind still swirled with questions, like, how could his Yami be so willing to physically torture him like that, and how long had this been going on, and why was Yami Bakura so against their getting married? "I'm here now, Ryou, and I'm never going to leave you," she promised. She could still feel him shaking in her arms, and she stroked his back soothingly until his tears at least had ceased. Not that she hadn't cried too as they embraced, but she felt the need to hide her tears, to be strong for his sake. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, and she pulled back just enough so that she could kiss his cheek. "Come on, let me take care of you." It pained her to even look at his wounds, so actually saying aloud what he suffered was unthinkable to her.

As she'd done before, she led him away to the bathroom where she cleaned and bandaged his wounds. She had the distinct impression, as she'd had before, that she was the only one who'd ever seen the injuries inflicted by his Yami, that he'd been the one to wash away the blood and slap on a band-aid in the past. Well, she would make every effort to care for him better than he was capable of caring for himself.

She first removed the Millennium Ring from his chest, then gently washed his wounds as he sat there in silence, his unfathomable mind turning in endless circles. One of the most recent cuts on his wrist concerned her especially.

"I-I don't know about this one," she said hesitantly. "I think we should take you in to get stitches."

Ryou shook his head immediately, the first time he'd resisted any part of her ministrations. "I can't do that," he said.

"But-"

"How could I explain these?" He gestured to his arms. "They'll think I'm a liar, that I'm suicidal, or that I'm psychotic. If I tried telling them the truth, they'd think I have split personality disorder and that I should be locked up in a mental hospital." There was such intense fear in his eyes, any protests May would have made died on her lips. "You know I'm not crazy, but we can't make them believe that."

"Okay, you're right," she conceded, worried for him. "I'll do what I can, then, and you'll have to be careful to keep the bandages on tightly for the next few days, at least." He nodded and relaxed a bit, and she continued tending to his wounds.

The more she thought about it, the more she understood the validity of his concerns. His yami had done an excellent job of inflicting pain on Ryou and making the wounds something that people would recognize and categorize as evidence of cutting; if Ryou tried to claim that he had been attacked, they'd say he was lying, because nobody attacked a person by slashing their wrists. They wouldn't check his chest, of course, nobody would think to. But if they did, they'd have no explanation for the punctures they'd find.

When she'd finished wrapping both fore-arms in gauze, antibac, and compression wrap, she did the same to his chest; unfortunately, the wounds there were deep enough that she couldn't just tape gauze over it as before, but she actually needed to use the compression wrap around his chest as well. She made a mental note to replenish the first-aid kit soon.

She secured the wrap, then sat there for a moment, her palm pressed to his heart. He placed his hand over hers and brought it up to his lips, kissing each fingertip in turn, a gesture so tender and sweet, it not only made her smile, but it made her giggle as well. She kissed his cheek, and said, "While you go put a shirt on, I'll get some soup on the stove. Sound good?" He smiled and nodded, and she stood to do as she'd said she would.

Ryou came back wearing a shirt with sleeves long enough to hide his bandages completely, his hair pulled back into a low ponytail. You would never be able to tell how much physical pain he was in by looking at him. While May stirred the soup, Ryou wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm proud of you for what you did back there," he murmured.

"Which part?"

"All of it. You're amazing, and I love you with all of my heart." His words were so sweet and tender, and as he took her left hand in his, he sneakily slipped something onto her ring finger. May glanced downwards as she felt the weight of it, and gasped.

"Oh, Ryou, I…" Her breath caught, and she spun around, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him as tightly as she was capable of doing. "I love you so much! I, yes, I will! I mean…" She stuttered and rambled, then burst into tears of joy, the adrenaline running out as her nerves finally kicked in after staying calm for so long. Ryou laughed softly, and May moved her arms to his waist, pressing her face to his chest as she let herself cry the necessary tears. He rubbed her back, understanding that the tears needed to come out.

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," he murmured, head bent over hers, his chocolate eyes gleaming. May wiped her eyes and lifted her head, not even hesitating before kissing him and twining her fingers into the hair pressed closest to his scalp.

When they'd broken the kiss, Ryou smiled at her sheepishly, and said, "I'd planned on proposing to you properly, but Marik already let the cat out of the bag, so…" May silenced him with another, briefer kiss.

"It doesn't matter how you proposed, only that you did," she assured him with a smile. She looked down at the ring again: it was lovely, simple, and elegant in its simplicity. She loved it, but not nearly as much as she loved him.


	13. Bakura's Plans

Yami Bakura was infinitely frustrated that he had lost the duel with Ryou's girlfriend. As Ryou and May went about their business after the duel, Marik lay on his bed in his dark bedroom, upset almost to the point of tears. Yami Bakura's spirit sat on the edge of the bed, looking as defeated as he felt.

"What are we going to do now?" Marik whimpered. "She won! I still can't believe that she was able to win! How did she have the cards and the strategy to do that?!"

Bakura snarled savagely, "Shut up, Marik! I _know_ she won, I was there! Get over it and move on!"

"B-But, _now_ what are we going to do? Viable bodies without souls are hard to come by, and female duelists don't usually wander around at night alone, otherwise it'd be easier to get what we need. So now…"

"Shut up, fool!" Bakura growled through gritted teeth. "I know what the plan was; I came up with it! Obviously, we need to come up with something else in order to accomplish it. The girl's too good a duelist on her own for us to defeat, which means that we either need to sabotage her deck and challenge her again, or find someone else. Are you certain you don't want to possess Tea?"

"Yes, Yugi cares about her too much, so we'd have to defeat him before we'd be able to pull that off successfully," Marik answered with a sigh.

Bakura hung his head, agonizingly irritated with their situation. "Couldn't I just trap their souls inside cream-puffs or something, and then we could just go about our business?"

"Well, you could, but then Yugi would come after us for it—" Marik protested.

"Damn you Yugi!" Bakura yelled furiously. Nobody but Marik and maybe Ryou would hear him, so it really didn't matter. He glanced over at his partner, and saw the tears standing in the young Egyptian's eyes.

Letting out a sigh, Bakura joined Marik on the bed, cuddling up to him even though he was only a spirit. "We'll figure this out. No matter what it takes, I'll find a way to make it work. I promise."

Bakura rarely ever made promises. He hated the idea of them. But the words seemed to comfort Marik. "Don't cry, okay? As soon as I can get rid of her, I'll come to you." He pressed an intangible kiss to Marik's forehead before fading into the shadows to watch the interactions between Ryou and May.

At the moment, she was making soup and Ryou had his arms around her, his chest pressed to her back. The way he nuzzled against her was nauseatingly cute. It made him want to stab them all the more. Bakura waited, though, for Ryou to finally sense his presence. The Brit finally lifted his head and glanced in Bakura's direction.

"You have five minutes to get rid of her. Then it's lights out for you."

Ryou paled for a moment, but he didn't seem about to protest, which is all that mattered to Bakura.

"Ryou, is something wrong?" May asked softly, confused by his behavior.

"No, I'm fine, just tired," he answered, and Bakura grinned. Ryou was willing to hide all the dark and dirty details of the relationship with his Yami from May. Good. That worked in Bakura's favor.

"I just remembered that you have that family dinner tonight. If you don't leave now, you'll be late."

"But, I can't leave you behind like this!" she protested. "I could just call them and say that you're too sick for me to leave you alone." She began to reach for her phone, but Ryou stopped her.

"Family isn't something to be taken for granted, May," he said quietly, a small, sad smile on his face. Her eyes watered, and she nodded. She couldn't argue with him when he invoked family like that. Not now that he was orphaned and alone in the world, alone but for her and his friends.

"You're right," she conceded with a sigh, hugging him tightly. "I'm just worried about you, Ryou. I hate seeing you get hurt like this. I wish there was more I could do to help you." She was starting to cry, and Ryou could feel every passing second weighing heavily on his soul. She needed to leave, or she might be in danger.

"You've done all that you can. I just need some food and sleep and I'll be right as rain in a few days, you just wait and see." He kissed her forehead and handed her a tissue, trying to reassure her. "You'll go have dinner with your family, and then you can come and tell me all about it tomorrow."

Less than a minute left. Ryou'd better hurry if he didn't want her to see him fighting his dark side yet again.

She did leave, just in time. Ryou let out a sigh of relief, then a cry of pain as his Yami forced his way into Ryou's mind and body, sealing his soul into the Millennium ring so that he would be floating in the darkness, his senses deadened, even his sense of time.

Bakura had no sense of pain, so he couldn't feel Ryou's pangs of hunger or the ache in his chest or the stings in his arms. Without delay he stalked into Marik's room, where the tan teen still lay on the bed, moping. He perked up as soon as he saw Bakura enter, and started to sit up, but Bakura leapt onto the bed in one smooth gesture, landing close beside Marik and pushing him back down on the bed. Without a word, they embraced, tongues twining, clothes shedding, and blood pulsing. Bakura might have told May that he didn't have a heart, but if she could see him now, she'd probably call him a liar.

They were wild and unrestrained, expending their energy and passion on each other until nothing whatsoever remained. When they were finally gratified, they let themselves drift into sleep.

At four a.m., Ryou found himself waking among the tangled sheets and limbs of Marik. His first sensation was pain, and his first emotion was disgust. Trembling with weakness, he crawled out of bed, searching for his clothes on the floor and pulling them on before making his way to the kitchen to finally eat what Amaya had made for him. He had to eat slowly, his stomach protesting with every bite he ate. Even so, he knew from experience that the only way to feel better was to eat. When he was full, he stumbled his way to his own room, managing to undress once more and get into the shower. The hot water shocked his system, forcibly relaxing his tense muscles. At this point, he felt like he was going to fall asleep standing up. He was lucky to make it to his own bed before doing so. Despite his exhaustion, he still spent several minutes sobbing into his pillow before passing into the shadows once more.

Bakura had been right: he knew what had happened because he did ache from their activities last night, and that made his soul ache too.

He only got a few hours of sleep before Marik was shaking him awake, demanding that he do the laundry this instant. A very groggy Ryou set about doing the laundry, rubbing his sore eyes as he sorted the whites from the darks and the colors. While the laundry machines ran, Ryou napped beside them, comforted by the warmth they radiated as he curled up in a thick blanket on the floor.

Doing laundry really wasn't so bad.

* * *

Yami Marik stewed in his soul's prison, jealousy and hatred consuming his every thought. How dare Marik lock him away like this and forget about him. Did he forget that Melvin was his first friend, when he was alone and confused and in pain? When nothing made sense and he was imprisoned and abused by his own father? How could he forget that Melvin was the one to bring Marik's suffering to an end, the one to make Marik a powerful and successful villain?

Now he spent all of his time with Bakura, who wasn't even as powerful as Melvin. After all, he managed to defeat both Marik and Bakura in their duel during the Battle City finals. Not only was Bakura constantly insulting Marik, he was utterly insensitive towards the Egyptian's emotional needs.

"I'll give you all the hugs you need," he muttered to himself. "Once I'm free, you'll realize just how much you missed me."

But first, he needed to get rid of Bakura, both of them. Otherwise, Marik would go running back to him in order to get rid of Malik yet again. While he'd defeated Bakura in the past, he needed to do a better job of it this time. He couldn't just send the spirit of the millennium ring to the shadow realm; he need to kill him and his host so that he could never return. That would teach Marik that he could never destroy Melvin.

"You may be the darkness, Bakura, but I'm a part of Marik's own soul. You cannot destroy me without destroying him too!" His maniacal laughter echoed in the hollow void. Soon, he'd be back. He just needed to wait for the opportune moment.


	14. Ryou's Sacrifice

"If I were to ask you to never hurt May, what would you ask for in return?" Ryou asked, trying to keep his nerve.

"What?" Yami Bakura was hardly paying attention to Ryou at the moment.

"You like making deals, don't you? Well, what would my end of the deal be if I wanted you to promise not to hurt May?"

"Well, you'd have to be offering me something good. As it is, I don't really need anything from you, so there's no reason for me to make any deal at all. I only make deals if they actually benefit me." Yami Bakura was being casual and apathetic about a matter that was, for Ryou, a rather serious thing.

"What more could I give you?" Ryou demanded, exasperated with him.

"Well, you could give me more time in your body, access to your bank account, permission to sleep with your—"

"Never!" Ryou was sick at the thought of that happening. He could never betray Amaya like that. That was the very thing he was trying protect her from with this deal.

Yami Bakura laughed that cold, sadistic laugh of his. "I guess that one's off the table then, but really, you have so many options if you just get a little… creative." He gave Ryou a look that made him cringe.

"It's been a while since I've gotten to strangle anybody," Bakura remarked off-handedly. "I'm starting to get out of practice."

Ryou turned white as a sheet. "What are you suggesting?" he queried in a faint voice.

"That I be allowed to strangle you, without killing you of course, and in exchange I'll guarantee not to hurt her for a period of time."

"For ten years," Ryou said. If he was going to agree to this torture, he was going to get the most out of it.

"For one year," Bakura retorted disdainfully.

"For five years," Ryou countered stubbornly.

"Two."

"Eight."

"Two."

"Five."

"Three."

"Five."

"One."

"Five."

They glared at each other, the tension between them palpably violent.

"Fine, three," Ryou conceded. Bakura nodded and held out his hand, grinning like the proverbial cat who stole the cream.

"And if you violate our agreement, then I will turn Marik in to the Egyptian police for his crimes, and he will spend the rest of his life in prison, if he doesn't receive capital punishment."

Yami Bakura gave Ryou a death glare sharper than his sharpest knives. "Fine," he growled, and Ryou shook his hand, sealing the deal. "I will enjoy every moment of strangling you."

Ryou felt too relieved to feel fear at the moment. Yes, it would only protect her for the next three years, but it was better than nothing. Far better than nothing at all.

* * *

Marik had been sent on a time-consuming errand out of the house and Amaya had classes today, so Ryou and Bakura were home alone. Now was the time for Ryou to fulfill his part of the deal. Bakura took control of his hands and legs, and Ryou didn't fight him, though he hated the feeling of his limbs moving independent of his own will.

His mind had gone blank with fear by this point; that was what willingly agreeing to be tortured did to you. During his inattention, his yami had gotten a thick belt from the closet and looped it around Ryou's neck. Then he began to tighten it.

Ryou's survival instincts kicked in, and even as his own hands pulled the belt as tightly as possible around Ryou's throat, his body was convulsing on the floor, protesting with every ounce of his being. The asphyxiation went on for an eternity before Ryou finally lost consciousness, his hands finally dropping from the belt and falling limply to the floor.

Yami Bakura had gotten what he wanted: an opportunity to test a new method of strangulation.

* * *

Amaya's last class of the day had been canceled. The professor had sent out an email that morning informing his students of this, and Amaya had felt stupidly happy about it. Having her last class canceled meant that she got to see Ryou a few hours earlier than she otherwise would have.

She wanted to surprise him by showing up early, so she didn't tell him that she was coming. Perhaps she should have, for when she got there, nobody came to open the door when she knocked. She took out the key that Ryou had given her for the basement apartment, unlocking the door and entering cautiously. She knew that Ryou was supposed to be home all day, so something was definitely wrong. She ventured into the quiet rooms with a sense of apprehension. Nobody in the kitchen, nobody in the living room. Nothing could have prepared her for what she would find in Ryou's room though.

When she saw him lying prone on the ground with the belt tightened around his neck, she screamed his name and ran to him, taking the wretched thing off as quickly as possible and rolling him from his side to his back. She checked his pulse. It was dangerously faint, but it was there. He was still alive. She held her fingers to his wrist for the longest minute of her life. She told herself that if it didn't pick up on its own within that time, that she'd have to perform CPR. It did though, and in just another couple minutes, Ryou's eyelids started to flutter.

The whole time that she'd been waiting for such a sign of life, she'd been sobbing, whispering his name over and over again, begging him to come back, to wake up. So when he finally opened his eyes, relief swept through her, followed rapidly by angry confusion. His expression was one of wretched guilt and pain, and the guilt almost seemed to tell her everything she needed to know. She wasn't supposed to have been here, to have seen this. But she had, and now…

"Why, Ryou? Why?" she pleaded as she cried against his hand, the wretched hand that had attempted to take his own life. Although things had been rough with his yami around the time they'd gotten engaged, she'd thought that things had been going well lately. He'd been so happy, so hopeful. Had he simply hidden all of the darkness deep down inside himself, only showing her the light until the darkness came to be too much to bear on his own?

"Why didn't you tell me? We could have talked about it. I could have helped you. I want you to let me in, not keep me out, like you have been. H-Has this happened before? Is it going to happen again?"

Ryou could only stare up at her helplessly. He already saw how this was going to end, and he could see that there was nothing he could do to stop it. He wasn't even capable of speaking to contradict her.

It was getting harder and harder for Amaya to believe that Ryou wasn't crazy or suffering from some kind of psychological disorder. If that was the case, wouldn't it be better for her to get him the help he needed? The events of that first night long ago flickered through her mind, when the Millenium Ring had burned her, and she felt even more confused by all of this. That memory alone stopped her every time she started to wonder about him.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she sobbed, "I'm sorry, Ryou, I-I just can't." It was too much pain for her to endure, so she left, ran crying from the apartment without looking back.

Ryou felt like he was dying that afternoon. All of the strength and hope and love he'd salvaged together in the past two years since meeting her wasted away within him, slipping through his fingers like sand, dissipating like mist. He was shattered, and there was nothing that could fix him now.

* * *

When Marik came back to the apartment after running errands, he put the groceries down on the kitchen counter and called, "Ryou, I'm back! Put the groceries away!" There was no response, from either Ryou or Bakura, and after a few moments, Marik started to wonder where they were. "Ryou?" he called again, heading towards the boy's room. He pushed the door open slowly and stood still in shock. Ryou was just curled up on the floor sobbing. He looked like an absolute mess.

"She's gone," he rasped between sobs. "She promised she'd never leave, but she's gone forever."

Marik hadn't known about the deal between Ryou and Bakura; there was no reason for him to have been told. All he understood was that Ryou was deeply upset because, apparently, Amaya had left him; he couldn't possibly be referring to anyone else. Yami Bakura was nowhere to be seen, and Marik did indeed feel pity for Ryou, so he cautiously approached and knelt by him on the floor. He sat there awkwardly for a moment, then gently propped Ryou up into a sitting position beside him and wrapped his arms around him in a manner he hoped would be comforting. Ryou was surprised by the gesture and its source, but he wasn't about to complain, not when he was in such desperate need of consolation. He turned his face into Marik's chest and hugged the bronze Egyptian tightly, sobbing all the while.

"What happened, Ryou?" Marik asked after a little while, worried about his lover's host. He'd never seen Ryou this upset before. He knew that Ryou had gone through a lot, but he'd always held up under the pain and sorrow, always found hope and a smile. He'd always managed to keep it together, so the fact that he was now shattered after losing Amaya was especially concerning.

Ryou's sobbing made it hard to understand his words, but Marik could still understand bits and pieces: "She thought I'd tried to kill myself… It's all his fault… She said she couldn't handle it anymore…"

The only "he" Ryou could be referring to was Yami Bakura, which meant that Bakura had driven away the one one that Ryou loved. Sudden anger surged through Marik: Ryou had every right to be devastated. If Malik had driven away Bakura, Marik would be shattered too. Fury, emptiness, hatred, sorrow, and desolation swept through Marik as he envisioned himself in Ryou's situation. In those moments of rage, Malik surged up within Marik so quickly that he didn't have time to realize what was happening before it was too late. Marik blacked out and Malik came to power for the first time in months.

Ryou nuzzled against Malik, unaware of the change that had taken place, comforted by the presence of a warm body in his arms. No, he and Marik weren't the best of friends, but he was far better than nothing. Suddenly, he felt something warm and wet in his ear, and he flinched. He glanced up at Marik in shock, mouth open, ready to protest, but he fell silent when he saw the change that had taken place.

"Melvin…" he choked out, tears still dripping to his cheeks.

"Don't worry, Kitty. I'll take good care of you." His hand caressed Ryou's wet cheek and started licking his tears away. Ryou began to recoil, but froze when his other hand seized Ryou's upper arm in a tight grasp, hard enough to induce bruising. With one eye closed, he leaned slightly away from the psychotic serial killer. The hand on his cheek moved to gently tangle in his hair as Melvin's face came closer to Ryou's. The terrified hikari was paralyzed with revulsion and fear. Melvin was capricious and doubleminded: he could be complimenting you even as he stabbed your lower intestine. Ryou didn't know what to expect from him.

Malik's lips brushed against Ryou's with a feather-light touch, and whatever had been left whole inside of Ryou broke. Agony pierced his heart as he felt himself be corrupted by the contact. Even though Amaya had left him, this still felt like he was cheating. But then again, it didn't count as cheating if it was non-consensual, which it was. Ryou knew that the tiniest resistance on his part would earn him torture worse than anything Bakura could have done to him. That was the only reason he wasn't fighting him with all his strength.

"That's a good Kitty," Malik crooned while tangling his fingers firmly in Ryou's hair. Then he went in for more. Ryou closed his eyes after a few moments, realizing that there was nothing else he could do. When Malik rasped his tongue across Ryou's lips, attempting entry, Ryou kept his lips firmly shut. Malik released his hold on Ryou's arm and shoved his fist into Ryou's ribs, making him cry out in pain. Malik took advantage of the moment to feed Ryou his tongue. His fist unclenched and went up to Ryou's neck, stroking the soft, freshly-bruised skin with a gentle touch that belied the strength of his grip.

Ryou could feel his very insides tremble in fear. How long was this going to go on for? Couldn't his yami save him from this, and maybe do him some good just this once? He tried crying out to Bakura in his mind, but he couldn't feel the familiar, usually-intrusive presence of the spirit of the Millennium Ring. It was like he'd locked the door to his soul room.

"I will give you all the hugs you want, Kitty," he breathed as he took a break from the kiss, leaving Ryou panting. Leading him by the hair and the throat, Melvin lay Ryou down on his back, smiling down at him as he positioned himself between Ryou's legs and reached for the hem of Ryou's shirt.

"Please, don't," Ryou whispered pitifully, only to be rewarded with a swift punch to the chest. He choked, and Melvin grabbed one of Bakura's knives off of the nightstand and cut Ryou's shirt off of him, pulling away the fabric to toss it further away from them. With the tip of the knife, he pressed into Ryou's old scars, the ones from the Millennium ring itself. The innocent hikari winced as a ruby droplet of blood welled up from the tiny cut. Malik lifted the knife and licked Ryou's blood from it while holding Ryou's eyes with his own. He shuddered, wanting to close his eyes, but too scared of what would happen if he did. Desperately, he tried again to reach Bakura, but he was still being stonewalled.

Maybe he'd planned for this to happen, all of it: Amaya showing up earlier, Melvin appearing to rape Ryou. Maybe this was what Bakura'd wanted all along. The anger and hatred Ryou felt for his yami increased exponentially in that moment. Why? Why did he have to endure this? Why him? Why this?

As Melvin reached for Ryou's belt, he decided that he wasn't going to give in to this without a fight. In a burst of rebellious spirit, Ryou lifted his leg to kick Malik's crotch as hard as he could. He roared in unexpected pain, then landed a blow square on Ryou's face, making his vision dance with stars.

"I see, you like it rough, do you?" he growled menacingly. "Well, you know what they say: if it's not rough it isn't fun." Then the beating began. Ryou did what he could to protect his head from any further blows, crying out in the vain hope that someone, anyone, would hear and come to his aid, but no such luck was to be his. Ryou didn't know if he preferred Bakura's slashing to Malik's beating, but at least when Malik was beating him, he could close his eyes and try to forget what was happening, he could lose all sense of time until his whole body was one throbbing wound.

Finally, the beating ceased, and Ryou narrowly opened one eye to gaze up at Malik. Ryou flinched in anticipation of another blow as the Egyptian bent down towards him, but instead he gently scooped Ryou up in his arms and lay him out on his bed, laying down beside him, propped up on one elbow. With one hand, he gently stroked Ryou's fluffy white locks. After a few moments, Ryou finally opened his eyes a little, staring into space, unable to look his torturer in the eye. Malik slid from stroking Ryou's hair to stroking his shoulders, his chest, then his thighs. Ryou shivered in disgust, and tried one final time to call upon his yami for aid, sending out a silent scream with every ounce of his being.

Just as Melvin dug his fingernails into Ryou's thigh through the fabric of his pants, Bakura finally appeared, Marik standing behind him, both as ethereal spirits of course. "How dare you," he growled in a tone that not even Ryou had heard before. Both he and Marik looked shocked and angered at what they saw, whether it was caused by their other selves lying together or the abuse that the yami had wrought on Ryou, it was unclear.

"Hello, binky boy," Malik greeted them with a psychosadistic smile that went far beyond Bakura's villainy. "Did you miss me, Florence?"

"You know that I hate you with all of my being," Bakura snarled as he stalked towards the bed. "That's why you tried to attack me by mutilating my host." Bakura came to stand by the edge of the bed, looking utterly disgusted. "You cold bastard. How was any of this"—he gestured to Ryou's battered, broken body—"Necessary? There was no reason for it, and furthermore, you're messing with my host. You're not going to get away with this Melvin. How would you like it if I beat your hikari like you did Ryou?" Marik, still standing close behind Bakura, suddenly looked worried.

"Bakura?" he whimpered, the threat of outright abuse at the hands of his lover making him cringe in fear. Bakura ignored Marik and continued with his rant.

"That's my body too, after all. I may have an extremely high pain tolerance, but even I would feel all of that. You're leaving now Melvin, and if you dare to ever try and mess with my host again, I swear I'll make you wish that you'd never been born." With those words, the Millenium Ring around Bakura's neck began to glow and Marik lunged towards his yami. Ryou closed his eyes against the blinding light, his ears ringing with the shouts of Marik and Malik.

Next thing he knew, Marik was helping him into a clean set of pajamas and tucking him into bed, pressing an ice pack against his swollen black eye. Bakura was sitting at his side with an expression that Ryou had never seen before. If he didn't know better, he would think it was concern. If he was truly concerned, he would have taken over so that Ryou wouldn't have to feel the pain.

As it was, Ryou was unable to get the sleep he needed due to the pain. Marik slept in a sleeping bag on the floor in his room and Yami Bakura sat on the edge of the bed all night long keeping watch over the pained, troubled Ryou. Whenever he awoke, Bakura would rouse Marik so that he could get Ryou another ice pack for his bruises.

In the morning, Ryou was still out of it and in incredible pain.

"He needs to go to the hospital," Marik said worriedly. "I think he has broken ribs, and I'm not sure those should go untreated."

"Well, how would we get him there? He's not in any state to walk there, even with you helping him." Yami Bakura wasn't averse to taking Ryou to the hospital if that was what he needed, but he seemed to also be concerned with the logistics of that plan.

"We could call Yugi or one of his other friends," Marik suggested.

"That'll do, but you'll have to go with them and stay with Ryou at the hospital. I'll be with you in the Millennium Ring."

* * *

When Ryou awoke to find himself in the hospital, he felt much less pain than he had the last time he was awake. He was grateful for their administering of pain killers. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Bakura's shade sitting on the edge of the hospital bed. Bakura turned to face him, that odd, anxious expression on his face. They stared at each other in total silence for several long moments. Then Bakura opened his mouth and inhaled deeply.

"I'm sorry about Amaya, Ryou. That wasn't supposed to happen."

Ryou blinked in surprise. He'd never heard Bakura apologize for anything before. His mind hazy with the painkillers, Ryou simply nodded faintly, accepting his apology for what it was.

"As for Melvin, I will avenge you for what he did. He had no right to lay a finger on you, and I will ensure that it never happens again." He paused, gazing at Ryou contemplatively. "What I do must not seem very different from what he does, but trust me, it's inherently different. Even if I could, I would never beat you to a pulp like he did."

Ryou could only stare at him blankly. He didn't know how much he believed his yami's words, but the intense rage he'd felt towards Bakura the previous evening was significantly dimmed.

"You must think that I don't care what happens to you at all, but I can assure you that's not true. I need your body, at least, to be in relatively good condition. That's why I had Marik get you to the hospital. I wouldn't have let you suffer all the pain he caused, except that if I took over, we wouldn't know if you needed medical treatment or not."

Ryou opened his mouth to speak, but Bakura held up his hand to silence him. "The doctors say you shouldn't speak for a few days, in order to prevent your vocal chords from suffering permanent damage. Sorry about that." With that, he winked out of sight, disappearing into the Millennium Ring, which was around Ryou's neck, though he didn't remember how it got there. Last place he saw it was around Marik's neck. He let Marik wear it most of the time now, since he and his yami were, well, close. After nearly being raped by Melvin, he was actually less repulsed by the prospect of his yami sleeping with Marik, because at least they both consented to that.

He felt a wave of envy towards Yugi wash over him yet again. Yugi couldn't bear to part with his Millennium Puzzle, while Ryou couldn't be happier to let Marik carry the Millennium Ring with him. The Pharaoh was like a father to Yugi, while Bakura was Ryou's personal demon.

Yugi himself entered the room, interrupting Ryou's train of thought. That was a pleasant surprise: finally a face he was genuinely happy to see. It suddenly occurred to him to wonder if Amaya knew that he was in the hospital. She probably didn't, there was no reason she would unless Marik and/or Bakura had thought to tell her.


	15. Kaiba's Bride

Only a week after he was discharged from the hospital, Ryou came down with a fever. He was still covered in nasty bruises, but at least the cuts on his arms seemed to be healing well. He was sentenced to bed-rest until his fever was gone, which left him with plenty of time to think about Amaya, regret everything, and reach the point where he utterly and completely hated his life.

Bakura had, surprisingly enough, left Ryou alone since the incident with Melvin. As such, Marik and the spirit were getting rather restless. Just watching movies together without being able to physically touch each other just wasn't enough. Ryou felt deeply ashamed to realize that the spirit that periodically possessed him had a more successful love life than he did. It was just another handful of salt being rubbed into his emotional wounds.

They'd both been surprisingly helpful while he was recovering, which he chalked up to their shared sense of guilt. Marik hadn't been careful enough to keep Melvin subdued, and Bakura had allowed himself to be trapped inside his soul room. If he'd been watching over Ryou, rather than hiding in his soul room, he would've been able to stop Melvin before anything had happened.

It didn't change the fact that he felt worse than he ever had before in his whole life. He was quickly spiraling downward towards the darkest shadows. After a few days of illness, Ryou's fever still hadn't broken, and he was feeling completely wretched. Bakura and Marik were settling down to watch a movie that evening when Ryou stumbled out of his room wearing a hoodie.

"Ryou? Is everything alright?" Marik asked worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just need some fresh air and to stretch my limbs a bit. I'm going for a walk, but I'll be back in ten minutes or so. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" Ryou managed to fake a half-smile and a semi-cheerful voice.

"Okay, but don't push yourself too hard. Try keeping it to five minutes, so that you don't tire out too quickly."

"Sure thing! See you later!" Ryou responded somewhat breathily, still feigning cheerfulness. Bakura remained silent, staring at Ryou intently. Ryou had a feeling that Bakura could see through his ruse, but if he could read his mind, he would've said something by now.

Ryou felt relieved to be out from under that intense gaze. Once outside, he began to walk towards the Domino Bridge. He pulled the hood up on his sweatshirt to hide his black eye and his hair, his most distinguishing features. The bruise would draw unwanted attention, and right now, he just wanted to disappear. If he hadn't gotten a black eye from Melvin, he wouldn't have needed the hoodie, because nobody would have recognized him anyway, let alone cared about what he was doing or where he was going.

When he arrived at the bridge, it was sunset, the street lamps just starting to come on. A brisk wind blew over the water, and as Ryou stood by the edge of the bridge, it blew fiercely enough to throw off Ryou's hood. He closed his eyes for a moment as the breeze tugged at his hair, then opened them again to watch the sunset. The sky was fiery with amber, crimson, and indigo, the purest, most vivid colors he'd ever seen. The brilliant reds and yellows faded into dusky blues and blacks until the sun had completely sunk beneath the horizon.

This was the moment Ryou had been waiting for. With difficulty, he climbed onto the railing at the edge of the bridge, holding onto a lamppost for support as he carefully balanced on the narrow fence railing. He stared down at the water, swallowing hard. He was still shaking all over from the fever that raged within his body, so he was already unstable at best.

It wouldn't take much for him for to lose his balance and plummet into the cold, choppy waters of the harbor. That wasn't really a problem, though: he was here to jump, after all. He was taking a deep breath, bracing himself to do just that, when he heard his name. He froze. Who could it possibly be?

He half-turned to see Kaiba's bride running towards him from across the street. She looked concerned. That made sense. She stopped several feet away from him, silent for a minute, as if unsure of how to proceed. Then, she simply took a step forward and held out a hand to help him down. He hesitated, then took her hand, gritting his teeth in pain as he stumbled off the fence railing. She caught him as he stumbled, catching sight of his black eye for the first time.

"Ryou, what happened?" she whispered in shock. Then she noticed how red his face was. She pressed her hand to his forehead, and exclaimed, "You're burning up! Come on, let's get your sweatshirt off and I'll get you home."

Ryou tried to resist her taking the sweatshirt off, but he was too weak after the long walk to the bridge. That meant that she saw the bandages wrapped thickly around his forearms. He was shaking, and Akira made him sit down on the bench. While Ryou sat, clutching at his ribs, she texted Seto: _"A crisis has come up. I'll have to miss dinner tonight."_

"What's your address, Ryou? You need to rest."

"Can't… go home," he gasped out, sounding pained. The way he clutched at his chest, his abdomen, she suspected that there was further physical damage she couldn't see. That didn't include the psychological and emotional damage he must be suffering if he was driven to the edge of a bridge like this.

"Then you're coming home with me," she decided. "I'm not leaving you here." She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and took it out.

Seto had responded: " _What happened?"_

She quickly typed back a response: _"Had to stop a suicide attempt. I'm bringing Bakura home with me. Don't worry. Love you."_

Seto looked at the message, perplexed. Bakura? How was he involved in this? He wanted to ask, but if she was handling someone who'd been in the process of attempting to take their own life, then he knew better than to distract her with questions. He'd find out later, anyways.

 _"Love you too."_

"Alright, come on," Akira said gently, helping Ryou to his feet. "It's not far, and once we get there, we can talk."

Ryou nodded silently, his face twisted in pain. What hell was he suffering? She wondered. She'd find out soon enough.

When she got him to their home, Mokuba was in the kitchen doing homework. He looked up, shocked at what he saw, even more shocked than Akira had been. "Mokuba, get an ice-pack from the freezer then put the kettle on." The boy was too stunned to protest, obeying his sister-in-law immediately.

Akira got Ryou on the couch, helping him into a lying position. She accepted the ice pack from Mokuba, who then scampered back into the kitchen to turn the stove on. She put the ice pack in Ryou's hand and guided it to his black eye, which was the only visible bruise.

"Mokuba, please bring me a cold compress," she said, still calm and composed. She knew that she needed to keep her cool if Ryou and Mokuba were to remain calm.

She accepted the compress from Mokuba and applied it to Ryou's forehead. Then she stood and guided Mokuba back into the kitchen. "Mokuba, can you please take your homework upstairs to your room?" she whispered. He nodded, and began gathering up his things. He hesitated at the base of the stairs, looking back at Akira with a worried expression. She bent down and kissed his forehead. "Everything will be fine, don't worry. Just go do your homework, and I'll let you know when dinner's ready." He nodded, looking somewhat reassured, then dutifully went upstairs to complete his assignments. Then she returned to Ryou's side, deeply concerned for her friend.

"Where else are you hurt?" she asked gently, sitting on the coffee table to face him.

"A couple broken ribs," he managed, with great difficulty. "More bruises."

"Can I look?" she asked hesitantly. She wasn't a physician, but she was trained in basic first aid and CPR certified. She liked to be prepared to help her patients in any situation.

He nodded, and she reached forward to unbutton his shirt. When she was done, she could just sit back and stare in horror at what had been done to him. "Do you need some Advil?" was all she could think to say. It would help with both the pain and his fever. He nodded and buttoned his shirt back up while she went to fetch it from the medicine cabinet, bringing it with a glass of water and two cups of tea on a tray she set down on the coffee table. She helped him sit up so that he could take the medicine, then remained at his side. He couldn't meet her gaze, and this made her fear all the more for his wellbeing.

"Ryou, what happened?" she asked in a whisper, afraid to hear the answer.

His shoulders shook as he started to cry, and she put her arm around his shoulder. He ended up curled on his side with his head in her lap. She let him cry all he needed to, catching snippets of explanation here and there as she stroked his hair, shoulders, and back, trying to comfort him as best she could.

Amaya had left him recently, but she didn't know why. There was a certain "he" that he kept referring to without name, and it would seem that this "he" had been a long-time abuser of Ryou. A man named "Malik" had assaulted Ryou in a moment of weakness. It was in describing these details that Ryou faltered and blushed the most, and Akira was able to read between the lines, hear what he didn't say. She'd had enough experience with rape victims and victims of domestic abuse to see the signs. Her heart swelled with pity for him, and it was all she could do to keep from sobbing herself. As it was, she did shed a few tears, but she still needed to be calm. If she wasn't calm, she couldn't help him.

When he had finally gotten his emotions out of his system, she coaxed him into drinking some herbal tea—a favorite flavor they shared—and got him to lie down and rest while she got dinner started for the three of them. Seto was eating at the office tonight; she and Seto had made plans for her to have dinner with him at the office with him, and normally these were the kinds of plans that never got canceled, no matter what. But Ryou's life had been more important, and she felt herself missing Seto as she stirred a pot of chicken noodle soup.

While she let that boil and simmer, she handed Ryou the teddy bear she had gotten for the Kaiba brothers for the sake of emotional expression and comfort. With a smile, she said, "You look like you could use something to hug right now."

He gave her a faint half-smile. "Thank you," he said softly, hugging the teddy bear to his chest.

"Do you need to spend the night here?" she asked gently. "I can put you up in one of the guest rooms."

"I'd hate to impose…" he began falteringly, but she silenced him after that.

"Ryou, you need help. I'm not going to turn you out when you need me. Not when things are this bad." She leaned in and kissed his forehead, just as she had for Mokuba. She saw that it had made him smile, and that cheered her. "I'll go get the room ready for you. The soup should be ready when I'm done."

With those words and a smile, she left to do as she'd said she'd do, then, when she returned, she served the three bowls of soup, bringing one to Ryou before bringing one up to Mokuba.

She knocked on his door and waited for his answer before entering the room. "Hi Mokuba, how's your homework going?"

"It's going pretty well. I'm almost done with my math, and I finished the reading earlier," he responded in his usual cheerful manner.

"That's good. If you need help with anything, let me know, and I'll do what I can to get you through it. At least I'm still able to help with your homework. Once you get to high school and start taking calculus, you'll have to ask your brother, because I am positively useless for any sort of advanced math." She smiled at him warmly, setting down the bowl of soup on the nightstand as she moved to sit beside him on the bed.

"Thank you for dinner, Akira," he said sweetly, giving her a tight hug. She smiled and returned the hug, playing with his hair a little as she did so.

"I think you need another hair cut, mister," she chided maternally, and Mokuba screwed up his face at the thought. He was silent for a minute, though, and he seemed reluctant to let go of her. "Is something wrong, Mokuba?"

"How's Bakura?" he asked quietly. Seeing their mutual friend in such a state had shaken him up quite a bit, it seemed.

"He's going to be alright, Mokuba," she answered slowly, choosing her words with care. "He's just sad and hurt and sick all at once, and that's a hard thing to go through. It's times like that when you need your friends the most, so it's a good thing that he's here to see me."

* * *

When Seto finally came home late that night, Akira was only half asleep. She was quickly wakened by her husband's sweet, eager kiss, and she soon had her arms around his lean frame.

"How was your day?" he finally asked when he broke the kiss to let her breathe.

"Oh, Dear, I'm so worried about Ryou," she whispered, tears flooding her eyes. Seto stroked her hair gently, a concerned look on his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked cautiously. He knew that she took the doctor-patient privilege very seriously, but there were some things she could say even so.

Quickly becoming very emotional, she nodded, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Seto, Ryou looks like he was used as a _human punching bag_ ," she began grimly, choking up already, her first tear betraying the depth of her disturbance. Now that she had started, she was too overwhelmed to stop. "He has bruises on his neck from being choked, his forearms are plastered with bandages, and he has broken ribs that he went to the hospital for. He has a fever and is almost underweight. When I found him, he was going to jump off the bridge downtown. What was he thinking? Why didn't he come to me? He knows he can talk to me about anything." Seto put his arms around her as she started to cry, letting her sob against him.

This had happened a couple of times before, when Akira became so overwhelmed with emotion after listening to certain stories from her patients, she needed to weep to let all of the emotions out. This time, because it was her friend who was in trouble, it was worse. Seto was always there to silently reassure her, not telling her to stop crying or to get over herself, but understanding what she needed to do. Of course, she couldn't cry in front of Mokuba; she didn't want to risk upsetting him over nothing. Her deep empathy was both a blessing and a curse as a therapist, but she knew that there was no other profession for her.

"I don't know what I'm going to do about him," she sobbed. "I'd call Amaya, but he told me they're not together anymore, and I don't know if he'd want me to. I can't figure out why they're separated though. He kept mentioning these two people that were hurting him, but I don't even have a name for one of them. He called the other one Malik."

Seto stiffened noticeably, and Akira lifted her head, perplexed. "Seto, what's wrong? Do you know who Malik is?"

He was silent for a moment as he grabbed a tissue and started to dry her tears. He'd never told her of the Millennium Items or the strange events that centered around them. He'd never thought that he would need to. Then he sighed and began the long, confusing explanation of it all. She deserved to know, and knowing would help her help Ryou. He only hoped that she believed him, especially since he hardly believed them himself.


End file.
